Beyond Layoff

Last week, the Indian media ran headlines announcing layoffs at top companies:   "Infosys, Wipro laid off 1% of its workforce in last six months" - Times Now IT firm's headcount drops by over 3k in 3 months - Deccan Herald  One needs to read beyond the headline to understand the facts. It is customary for software service firms to announce headcount - number of people employed - any major changes during the quarter. During recent earnings announcements, the companies indicated: Wipro has reduced its head count by over 3,000 in the second quarter. The company, that had 1,66,790 people working under it at the end of June quarter, saw its workforce down by 3,031 (1.8%) to 1,63,759 at the end of the second quarter ended September 30, 2016. Infosys also indicated that in the first quarter, it had reduced its head count by 1,811 (0.9%) from 2,00,364 to 1,98,553 employees A reduction of 1.8% and 0.9% of workforce by IT majors should not be news. This seems t...

The Tata Group informed the Indian government that it plans to shut Tata Teleservices (TTSL), according to reports. TTSL is preparing an exit plan for around 5,000 employees, which includes notice period of three to six months, severance packages, and Voluntary Retirement Scheme schemes  (VRS)  for senior employees.  A small number of employees will get absorbed in other group companies, reports added. Also in Economic Times:  Lessons from Tata Tele shutdown: What to do when you are one of thousands suddenly without a job The closure of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), the telecom unit of Tata Sons, will put thousands of its employees on the road. The Tata Group has informed the government that it plans to shut its wireless business, and will start the process in a month. There were 5,101 employees on its rolls as on March 31, 2017, as per the latest annual report.  Though TTSL is preparing an exit plan for most of its employees, which includes a ...

An interesting article in Deccan Herald (cross posted from New York Times) today highlights how it employs 1,30,000 people in India - about one-third of its total workforce, and more than it does in US. Key highlights from the article: IBM opened its first Indian offices in Mumbai and Delhi in 1951 is now spread across the country, including Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai. The company employs 130,000 people in India — about one-third of its total workforce, and more than in any other country.   IBM is unusual because it employs more people in a single foreign country than it does at home.  The company’s employment in India has nearly doubled since 2007, even as its workforce in the US has shrunk through waves of layoffs and buyouts.  IBM employs well under 1,00,000 people at its US offices, down from 1,30,000 in 2007.  Depending on the job, the salaries paid to Indian workers are one-half to one-fifth of those paid to America...

Answer to a recent question from an online forum Here is an image that perhaps summarizes the Indian IT Industry All of us have a viewpoint on what’s ailing the IT industry ( link ) Large software service companies employ nearly 200,000 people each. The rate of voluntary attrition is at historically low percentages. Assuming some sort of a bell-curve grading continues, and companies expect 5-10% of the bottom-rung people to ‘voluntarily’ leave, we are still looking at 10-20,000 people (each) leaving. The global software services market has slowed down. Most of the large software-service firms are projecting slower yearly growth. Thanks to Trump’s Executive actions, Indian firms are promising to hire tens of thousands of American workers. One could include other factors like increased automation and productivity gains that are being touted by IT leaders. Factor in the slowdown in American work-visa (H1) issuance, protectionism in Australia, England and elsewhere that less...

Information technology firm Cognizant said around 400 of its senior executives have accepted its voluntary separation package which will help the multi-national corporation save around $60 million dollars annually, PTI reported on Sunday. The company had offered some of its senior staff up to nine months of salary. Wikimedia Commons The international company had pitched the package, which offers up to nine months of salary, to some of its senior executives based in the United States and India in May. The firm has not specified how many of the employees were based in India, which accounts for a sizable number of its 2.56 lakh workforce. “Of the $39 million (approximately Rs 248 crore) of realignment charges, $35 million was for the roughly 400 associates who accepted our voluntary separation package,” Cognizant Chief Financial Officer Karen McLoughlin said at a recent investor call. The CFO said the step will help increase profits. The firm’s staff strength was reduced by aro...

There is a is a recent article from NDTV   titled "Reskill Yourself, Hiring Specialist's Message To Mid-Level Indian Techies" The advice seems logical, and timely. As a matter of fact, most 'management gurus' and IT leaders are are parroting  the Reskill Reskill Reskill  mantra However, What to reskill on and How to go about it is unclear, perhaps even to the 'Gurus' Read rest of the article: Mid-level positions in India's IT sector are most at risk as the industry grapples with changes in the technological landscape and stringent visa regimes in many overseas markets, according to a top executive of staffing firm TeamLease. There have also been reports of layoffs by many IT companies, even though the industry has denied the allegations. "The nearly 1.4 million mid-rung employees, who typically have 8-12 years of experience, are now at the centre of reskill and restructuring conversations happening across the sector," says Alka Dh...

Three of India's top IT companies saw significant reduction of their workforce in the quarter ending June, according to a report in HT Mint . "The $154 billion Indian information technology (IT) sector, once India’s largest creator of jobs, is now struggling to even add to its workforce. For the first time, three of the five largest IT companies saw their workforce shrink in the quarter ended June 30. The five firms, which together employed 878,913 people at the end of the June quarter, saw their workforce shrink by 1,818 people." According to Economic Times , E-commerce major Snapdeal on Monday revealed that it is facilitating a major layoff in the company, with an agenda to cut down 80 percent of its employee strength. A senior official of the company told ANI that the management has given verbal instructions to their department heads to prepare the list.  Additionally, the official also revealed that the owners of the firm have reversed the merger which was t...