Beyond Layoff

A couple of days ago, we looked at NASSCOM''s forecast of "Indian IT sector to see up to 38% fewer jobs this fiscal" This week, ZDNet posted an analysis "It's time for TCS, Wipro, and Infosys to say goodbye to double-digit growth forever" The results from the most recent quarter that ended in June 2017 are just in and there are no surprises here amongst the big three in Indian IT. Using this impetus to wean themselves off of low-end work and gravitate towards more value-added assignments could save Indian IT. TCS, India's largest IT services company, posted a 5.2-percent growth in revenues (in dollar terms versus a year ago) as well as a 7-percent drop in net profit. Mint newspaper, observing that it was the company's "11th consecutive quarter when the company has either under-performed or at best managed to match analysts estimates" called it a result of "unimaginative leadership" in a separate piece, which is an un...

Many of us watching the IT services sector already knew this but here is an update from Times of India IT industry is reorganizing its workforce to deal with automation and achieve cost savings. TCS and Infosys saw employee headcount reduce by 1,414 and 1,800 in April-June quarter respectively. There will be lower net addition of techies due to sectoral headwinds and macro economic factors. In what comes as a harbinger of turbulent times setting in for the IT sector, NASSCOM has said the industry would create 20-38% fewer jobs in FY18 compared to fiscal 2017. The industry would create 1.3-1.5 lakh new jobs (lateral plus campus) in FY18 while it had added 1.8 lakh jobs in FY17. At its peak, the sector added nearly 2.40 lakh jobs a year. There will be lower net addition of techies due to sectoral headwinds and macro economic factors. "Tech is eliminating jobs in every sector, including IT. It is also creating jobs. Countries like the US and UK have been adopters of ...

IT workers in India seem to be on the edge with all the news of layoffs. Believe it or not, here is a recent post in an online forum that generated a lot of discussion and comments In the most ridiculous and cruel turn of fate, I had a meeting with my manager where I was reprimanded for leaving the "official" whatsapp group which my manager created. I was clicking around the interface and left the group. I did not care much about it at the time.  Come next day, I was called in and given a lecture about team work. I sucked up and listened. The next week I was called upon again asked to make leave the company or take up PIP. I understood the ploy and resigned on my own. It is the most farcical thing that happened to me in my career spanning nearly 9 years in the IT industry. Believe it or not, I am amused and a bit apprehensive about the future. I think I took the right decision any way. By the way, I just travelled onsite last month for a knowledge transfer session...

I have been observing and wondering about the softer side of the software industry, especially the values and principles that drive the business. Years ago, when I worked for the software services giant Infosys, the corporate tagline was  “ Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values. ” That tagline perhaps symbolized the quintessential Indian middle-class values of service and sharing; values that prompted the founders to share the wealth they created by giving away stock options, grants and ESOPS to hundreds of early employees. That story was the stuff of corporate legends in the nineties through 2000s. Infosys’ slogan is long gone, which implies things are changing fast in the software services sector. On one hand, there is a talk of how the industry has matured and globalized; and on the other hand, there is the reality of the slowdown that leaders and managers are coming to grips with.   Tough times equals layoffs Indian software services companies are under tremen...

Experts concede that there is no right way to conduct a layoff or hand-over pink slips to employees. However, some ways are worse than others.  A recent ET article highlights " Anand Mahindra's apology over a techie's sacking brings IT layoffs in spotlight" Anand Mahindra’s apology on social media on Friday following the firing of an employee at Tech MahindraBSE 0.96 % brought to the fore the contentious issue of the way pink slips are handed out in the Indian IT industry as it struggles with a challenging business environment and rising protectionism in the US.  “I want to add my personal apology. Our core value is to preserve the dignity of the individual and we’ll ensure this does not happen in future,” the Mahindra Group Chairman said on Twitter.   CP Gurnani, managing director at Tech Mahindra, tweeted, “I deeply regret the way the HR rep & employee discussion was done. We have taken the right steps to ensure it doesn’t repeat in the future.” ...

The New York times has an interesting article By NIDA NAJAR that highlights "Indian Technology Workers Worry About a Job Threat: Technology" The article highlights some of the key points in the article have also been discussed in the Indian media: Companies like Tech Mahindra and Cognizant have 'asked' some of their employees to resign. Some employees claim that they were escorted out by their managers and HR.  As per media reports,  these companies are "preparing to shed jobs en masse. “What we’re seeing is an acceleration in shedding for jobs in India and an adding of jobs onshore,” said Sandra Notardonato, an analyst and research vice president for Gartner, a research and advisory company. Sills and re-training seems to be a recurring theme. “Even if these companies don’t have huge net losses, there’s a person who will suffer, and that’s a person with a limited skill set in India.” However neither the article nor the employers seem to have a way forwar...

Article from Deccan herald:  The job of a cook seems to be the new leveller. From mechanical engineers to PG degree holders, the list of applicants cuts across disciplines of study.  Monday saw the applicants demonstrating the dishes they can cook to bag the job of cooks in the hostels of the department of backward classes and minorities (BCM) in the district. A total of 3,000 candidates are vying for 72 posts of cooks and 92 posts of assistant cook for which SSLC is the prescribed qualification. A total of 178 candidates were shortlisted for the practical test. Applicants have degrees ranging from MA, MSc, BE, BSc (Agri), BA, diploma and BEd. Among those trying out their recipes was Shivanand Kalabanura of Raddera Thimmapur in Badami taluk of the district. Kalabanura did his BE at the government engineering college in Karwar in 2014. He works as the head of the department of mechanical engineering at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Diploma College. He said his salary was Rs 8,...