Beyond Layoff

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 tremendous pres

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