HR Headlines: Nov-08 (Part-1)

20 Million Jobs Likely To Get Slashed, Warns ILO
Even as governments around the world struggle to raise capital into their banks in the hope that the global liquidity crunch doesn’t disrupt economic activity, the International Labour Office (ILO) has warned that there would over 20 million jobs would be slashed across the globe due to the global financial crisis by the end of 2009. The turmoil might as well push 40 million more working poor people living on less than a dollar per day below the poverty line. Based on revised global growth estimates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations and early reports of other similar agencies, the ILO said that there were indications that the number of job losses would be rise in most countries. “Preliminary estimates indicated that the number of unemployed could rise from 190 million in 2007 to 210 million in late 2009. The number of working poor living on less than a dollar a day could rise by some 40 million and those at two dollars a day by more than 100 million,” ILO director-general, Mr. Juan Somavia said.
Source: 22-10-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Low Salary Hikes On The Cards For Chief Executives
Top executives are likely to get low salary hikes as India Inc tightens it belt. According to HR experts, while the salary hikes of CEO and top executives could range between zero to five percent, for the middle and lower management it is expected to be around 8 to 10 percent. Mr. Sanjeev Sethi, Corporate Director, Imperial Hotels, said, “Though at company level, we have thought of hikes of about 8 percent, CEO pay is going to increase by only 5 percent this year.” This is a considerable drop, as last year the hospitality sector saw an increase of around 20 to 25 percent in the salaries of chief executives. Similarly, Bharti Airtel’s could also get lesser salary hikes this year. HR consultants anticipate bad times for non-performing CEOs. Mr. Vijay Rai, an independent HR consultant said, “The Indian economy is now addicted to growth. Hence the accountability of the chief executives will now be hugely under the scanner.”
Source: 20-10-07 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

50 Trainee Pilots Benched By Kingfisher
Mr. Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines, which is witnessing a loss of Rs 10 crores a day due to low flight occupancies and high costs, has benched 50 trainee pilots as an austerity measure. These pilots will continue to be on the airline’s payroll but they will lose their substantial flying allowances. They usually get around Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh per month. Now, they will take home around Rs 30, 000. The airlines decided to bench the pilots and not sack them following the uproar over Jet laying off 1, 900 employees.
Source: 19-10-08 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Merrill Lynch CEO Anticipates Job Cuts
Mr. John Thain, Merill Lynch & Co Chief Executive Officer, said that he expected thousands of job losses from the bank’s $50 billion takeover by Bank of America Corp. He added that, most of the job cuts will fall in information technology, operations and finance. The firm has already cut more than 5, 000 jobs in the past 18 months, taking its headcount to about 60, 000, in an effort to rein in costs as credit markets froze.
Source: 21-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Corporate India Is Now More Anxious
The recent layoffs in the IT, BPO, banking and airlines industry has added to the anxiety of corporate India. The layoff and subsequent reinstatement of the 1900 Jet Airways employees, as well as announcements by Kingfisher Airlines indicating additional layoffs have only aggravated the anxiety. According to HR analysts, the manner in which the layoffs were conducted at Jet Airways was unfortunate and unplanned. IT and banking companies, which have weeded out similar umber of people, have done it in a more strategic and objective manner. Mr. Sandeep Chaudhary, Business Header, Hewitt Associates’ Rewards Consulting practice, said, “One of the effects of the current downturn and spate of layoffs is that attrition across sectors has gone down by at least 3% points. Salary levels and increases have taken a beating and have dropped from as recently as three months ago.” The overall impact of the financial crisis will continue to affect jobs and salaries over the next 6 to 12 months. The only difference between the layoffs in India and the US is that if a certain position is made redundant in the US the employee is made to leave irrespective of his or her performances, whereas in Indian companies will usually try and retain top performers in other roles even if their positions are made redundant.
Source: 21-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Infy Says India IT Is Safe
Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies, said that there will be no pink slips in the Indian Information Technology (IT) as it has countered the impact of the cureent global financial tsunami well. “The fundamentals in the information technology sector are strong,” he added.
Source: 23-10-08 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Per-Capita Income Lowest In Bihar
with the monthly income of a person in the state being just a little over Rs 800. According to the State Directorate of Economics and Statistics, per capita income at current prices for Bihar was Rs 9702 for the year 2006-07, while Delhi was at the top with Rs 66,728, the data submitted by State Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation Mr. G K Vasan indicated. After Delhi at the top in terms of per capita income were Puducherry with Rs 52,669 and Haryana with Rs 49,038 at the second and third position respectively for 2006-07. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh at Rs 14,685 and Madhya Pradesh at Rs 16,578 were lower down in the list but over Bihar.
Source: 23-10-08 rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

GM Mulls Layoffs In White-Collar Jobs
Following the tremors of the crisis, General Motors Corp. has been forced to layoff salaried workers even after more employees than expected took buyouts, the company said in a statement. The company also will cut salaried worker benefits, including eliminating matching payments in to 401(k) plans and further changes to be announced soon, according to the letter from GM Chief Executive, Mr. Rick Wagoner and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Fritz Henderson. It added that layoffs will take place later this year and early next year.
Source: 24-10-08 Mint Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Goldman Sachs To Axe 10% Of Its Staff
Goldman Sachs Group Inc is planning to cut 10 percent of its total staff, or almost 3, 300 jobs, according to a source. In June this year, the company laid off hundreds of support staff and junior bankers due to slowing markets following a round of cuts in leveraged lending and mortgage securities jobs in April. The company had 32, 569 employees worldwide at the end of August. Compensation and benefits accounted for 57 percent of its total operating expenses in the three months to August, down from 67 percent in the second quarter and 73 percent a year ago.
Source: 24-09-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Lenovo To Slash 50 Jobs in the US
According to reports from Hong Kong, Lenovo Group, the world’s No. 4 personal computer maker, said it would cut 50 jobs at its US headquarters by December, as the global economic crisis overshadows the business outlook. The company has 1, 680 employees at its US headquarters and 23, 200 employees worldwide. Last year, the company laid off 1, 400 workers and moved jobs to emerging markets.
Source: 23-10-08 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Parsvnath To Sack Non-Performing Employees
Affected by the slowdown in the realty market, Parsvnath Developers announced that it would sack under-performing employees as part of its cost-cutting measures that would begin in the next 15-20 days. Pointing out that sales in the current festival season have declined by about 40-50%, the company’s Chairman, Mr. Pradeep Jain said: “A non-performer has to go away, cost-cutting measures will start in 15-20 days”. He, however, did not mention the number of people who will be retrenched. The company currently employs 1,400 people and about 30,000 people are indirectly employed. But he clarified that non-performer would be replaced by good professionals, who are currently available in the market in good number.
Source: 24-10-08 livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Spice Jet Appoints Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal
Spice Jet has appointed Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect replacing Mr. Siddhanth Sharma. Prior to this, he was the COO and Chief Strategy officer for Flight Options. He has earlier worked as Senior Director of Marriott International and has also been Manager of financial planning for the maintenance, reservations and internal consulting area of US Airways.
Source: 22-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

DBS Bank Names Mr. Sanjiv Bhasin As CEO
Mr. Sanjiv Bhasin joins DBS Bank as CEO, replacing Mr. Pranam Wahi. He will take charge after necessary formal approvals are received from the Reserve Bank of India. Mr. Bhasin has spent his 30-year of banking career in various geographical and business assignments in India and overseas.
Source: 22-10-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Mr. Ravi Sud Quits Hero Honda
Mr. Ravi Sud, Chief Financial Officer, Hero Honda has resigned from the company after spending 10 years with it, a release from the company stated. “Mr. Sud has decided to move for opportunities outside the company. He would be with Hero Honda till the end of this month,” added the company release.
Source: 23-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Mr. V Sumantran Joins Ashok Leyland
The Hinduja Group flagship company, Ashok Leyland has announced the appointment of Mr. V Sumantran as director on its board. He is currently executive vice-chairman of Hinudja Automotive UK and chairman of Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain. Prior to this, he was at Tata Motors’ Passenger Car Business and Engineering Research as Executive Director.
Source: 23-10-08 Business Standard

Compiled by Amresh Anjan

HR Headlines: Oct-08 (Part-6)

BPOs Bullish On Hiring Amid The Slowdown
Despite the meltdown in global economy and trauma in the banking, finance and insurance services (BFSI) sector, Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) firms appear bullish. These firms are increasing these employee strength in the country, attributing their optimism to business ramp-up over the last couple of months and an increased acceptability of offshore work. BPOs anticipate that more work will be offshored to locations like India. A Valuenotes Database study indicates that domestic BPO firms would employ nearly 540,000 people in the next four years against 140,000 staffers currently. Mr. Karthik Sarma, Chief People Officer, WNS Global Services said that the BPO industry differs from the IT industry. Any economic downturn leads to cuts in discretionary IT spending. But such cuts don't affect the BPO industry because most of the revenue comprises long-term contracts.
Source: 14-10-08 rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Air India To Reduce Staff Strength
With the meltdown affecting the aviation industry, Air India is proactively seeking ways to reduce its staff strength and whittle down its wage bill. The airline has decided to revive a six-year-old proposal to offer employees leave without pay for three to five years. The scheme would have to be implemented and could take up to six weeks. A spokesperson from Air India said, “All we are doing is reviving a scheme that we had in 2002 and 2003.” Around 15, 000 employees are eligible for the scheme from the total of around 34, 000 that were working for the carrier at the time of its merger with Indian.
Source: 15-10-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Barclays Plans To Axe 3, 000 Jobs Post Lehman Deal
UK Banking Major, Barclays Plc is planning to slash about 3, 000 jobs following its purchase of bankrupt Lehman Brothers’ North American Investment banking and capital markets businesses, said a media report. The layoffs would amount to over 10 per cent of combined investment banking and trading operations, as per a report by American Business Publication, Fortune. Barclays President, Mr. Bob Diamond confirmed the headcount reduction to the magazine and said that he hoped the operation would be complete by year end, including the elimination of the staff positions.
Source: 16-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Deutsche Bank’s CEO Forgoes 2008 Bonus
The highest-paid executive of Germany’s top 30 companies, Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Josef Ackermann will forgo his 2008 bonus as banks struggle with the financial crisis. Investment banking chiefs, Messrs Anshu Jain and Michael Cohrs will also go without their bonuses, along with members of the bank’s management and supervisory boards, Deutsche Bank spokesman, Mr. Christian Streckert said.
Source: 17-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

23 Indians Charged In One Of the Biggest Illegal Recruitment Cases
In one of the biggest illegal recruitment cases in the United Arab Emirates, 23 Indians are among 94 foreign workers who have been convicted along with their employer. The court has sentenced the manager for two months. The workers have been given jail terms ranging from three to six months.
Source: 17-10-08 The Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

RBI Staff To Go On Strike on Oct 21
RBI’s employees meeting with the top management ended in a stalemate, with Governor, Mr. D Subbarao refusing to either press for an immediate withdrawal of the government’s notification to stop update of basic pension or to put it on hold for sometime instead of immediate implementation. Due to which, the employees’ association of the RBI, including officers and employees under the banner of the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees have decided to strike work on October 21, 2008. The sources close to the development said that the governor, however, has assured taking up the matter with the government at a later stage for a suitable solution. Official sources explained that update of pension refers to revising the basic pension upwards after every revision of pay scales. The pension scheme is similar to the central government’s pension scheme in accordance with RBI circular dated March 1992. Employees have alleged that the withdrawal of the update of pension is a retrograde step since it is totally contrary to the decision of the central government to shower updation benefits both in salary and superannuation to millions of its own employees.
Source: 17-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Only 1,716 Candidates Have Got Jobs Through Employment Exchanges in 10 Years
Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi, said that the Shiela Dikshit Government has not been able to fulfill its promises pertaining to creation of new employment opportunities made in the manifestos in 1998 and 2003, as a result of which only 1, 716 people have been offered employment through employment exchanges in the past ten years. Stating that the Congress promised the youth before the elections that steps would be taken to secure their future, Prof. Mr. Malhotra said all these assurances had been proved to be empty and the promised schemes remained on paper alone. He added that only 1, 716 people had been offered jobs all these years through the nine District Employment Offices, two Special Employment Officer for Handicapped, one Special Employment Office foe ex-servicemen and three University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaus that are functioning at present.
Source: 14-10-08 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan

PepsiCo To Cut 3, 300 Jobs On Lower Profits
PepsiCo said it will axe 3, 300 jobs after posting a profit that fell more than analysts estimated. The job cuts are a part of the company’s plan to pare $2 billion in pre-tax expenses during the next three years. As many as six plants will be closed, the company said.
Source: 15-10-08 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan

CSC To Increase Its Headcount
Computer Science Corporation (CSC) said that it is planning to increase its employee strength in India over the next six months. The addition of 2, 000 employees would take the company’s total workforce ally to 21, 000. The company acquired Covansys in July 2007 and First Consulting Group (FCG) in January 2008, and has achieved full integration of both operations into the company. With the acquisitions, CSC has nearly doubled its headcount in India. As per company officials, the financial services and manufacturing sectors offer immense opportunity for growth. Mr. Michel W Laphen, Chairman and CEO, CSC said that the company has faced very little impact due to the economic turbulence in the US and other parts of the world. “We have been fortunate enough during this period and we’ve not laid of any employee during this turbulent time,” he added.
Source: 16-10-08 Busienss Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Aricent Plans To Expand Its Workforce By 10%
Technology and outsourcing company, Aricent is planning to expand its global workforce by up to 10% by year end with particular emphasis on Indian operations. The company aims to add around 800 people over the next three months in various centres around the world. Presently, it has 6,000 employees in India with offices in Gurgaon, Chennai and Bangalore.
Source: 16-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

DBS Indian JV To Lay Off Staff
Following the global financial turmoil, DBS Group Holdings said that its Indian joint venture, Cholamandalam DBS Finance Ltd is closing 75 branches in India. ”The business has to adapt to prevailing conditions in India,” a DBS spokesman said confirming an earlier report that said it will close 75 of its 260 branches and 200 people will lose their jobs.
Source: 15-10-08 Mint Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Britain to Axe 10, 000 Government Jobs
Britain is prepared to axe nearly 10, 000 jobs from its Ministry of Justice as part of a round of budget cuts to battle the tough economic climate. But a ministry spokesperson said although the division was making nearly 1 billion pounds ($ 1.75 billion) worth of cuts, no decision had been made on jobs and that only back office and support departments were likely to be affected.
Source: 16-10-08 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Max New York Life Appoints New CEO
Max New York Life Insurance, the joint venture between Max India and New York Life International, LLC, the international arm of New York Life Insurance Company, have named Mr. Rajesh Sud as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the joint venture operation. Prior to this, Mr. Sud was serving as the company’s Deputy Managing Director.
Source: 13-10-08 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Best Western Names Mr. Sudhir Sinha As CEO
Hotel Chain, Best Western India has appointed Mr. Sudhir Sinha as the President and Chief Operating Officer. He brings an experience spanning over 22 years in the hospitality and the service industry. Before this, he was Vice-President of development and franchise services at Choice Hotels for seven years.
Source: 13-10-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Ford Appoints Mr. Timothy Tucker
Mr. Timothy Tucker has been appointed as new Vice-President for sales by Ford India. Prior to his India appointment, Mr. Tucker served as Managing Director of Ford-Vietnam and Managing Director of Ford Malaysia in separate, consecutive postings.
Source: 14-10-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Mr. Rajshekhar Roy Joins Four Soft
Four Soft, an IT firm providing solutions to transportation and logistic industry, has appointed Mr. Rajshekhar Roy as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will take over the role from Mr. Palem Srikanth Reddy, Chairman and founder of the company.
Source: 14-10-08 Business Standard


Compiled by Amresh Anjan