HR Headlines: Oct-09 (Part-3)

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Hiring Activity Of Indian Companies Picks Up 4.1% In Sep

A report by job portal, naukri.com revealed that hiring activity has picked up 4.1% in September with IT, BPO and real estate sectors turning bullish after a long time. The portal's monthly 'JobSpeak index' increased to 729 in September from 701 in August this year. However, sectors like Banking & Finance and Oil & Gas saw a drop in hiring activity by 6.5% and 4.6%, respectively in September as compared to August. Out of the top 13 cities covered in the survey, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi/NCR saw an increase in hiring at 9%, 8.4% and 3.5%, respectively. Smaller cities like Ahmedabad and Vadodara witnessed double digit growth at 11.8% and 12.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, hiring activity declined by 5.4%, 3.4% and 2.4%, respectively in September as compared to August. Read the report in detail

Source: 20-10-09   naukri.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

India, China Likely To Lead 2010 Salary Hikes

India and China may lead salary hikes in Asia next year, Hewitt Associates said. The salaries in India are likely to grow by an average 9.2% in 2010, compared with a 6.3% gain this year, the Lincolnshire, Illinois-based company said. On the other hand, wages in China may increase 6.7% next year from 4.5% in 2009, it said after a survey of 2,346 firms across 21 Asian nations. The company said that six percent of firms in India may freeze wages next year against 26.1% in 2009. In China, about 8.3% firms could freeze salaries in 2010, it said. It surveyed 283 firms in India and 404 in China.

Source: 21-10-09   livemint.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

FMS Completes 100% Placement For Its First Year Students

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) has announced that it has completed 100% placement for its first-year students (batch of 2011). This year, around 84 companies, including Proctor & Gamble, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Citibank, Standard Chartered, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Unicon Securities and PVR visited the campus. The companies that were away from the recruitment process, last year, were also back. In addition to this, new sectors like pharmaceuticals, media & advertising also made their presence felt, FMS officials said.

Source: 19-10-09   Hindustan Times    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Toyota To Employ 2,000 Workers In India

Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it will hire 2,000 more people in India as the auto maker plans to launch a small car in the country by 2011. The company, which runs its Indian operation through a joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), with the Kirloskar Group, is coming up with the second plant at its Bangalore facility with an investment of Rs 3,200 crore to manufacture the small car.

Source: 22-10-09   livemint.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

US Government Slashes The Compensation Of Top Executives By 50%

The US government's pay czar has cut the salaries of top executives by 50 per cent at seven largest bailed-out firms including Citigroup and AIG. The extreme move comes in the wake of widespread criticism of executives who are being paid exorbitant salaries even as their companies survive on tax payers' money. The seven companies that have to comply with the directive are Citigroup, AIG, Bank of America, Chrysler, General Motors, GMAC and Chrysler Financial.

Source: 23-10-09   rediff.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Satyam Not To Pay Salaries To Employees In The Virtual Pool After December 18

Satyam Computer Services, renamed as Mahindra Satyam, has announced that it will not pay compensation to employees in the virtual pool after December 18. The employees in this pool will have no option, other than to stay on the company's rolls without pay till March next year. The company, spoiled by the near Rs 8,000-crore fraud committed by its founder, Mr. Ramalinga Raju, had put 10,000 employees, which it calls associates, in the virtual pool in June because there was not enough work to keep them busy.

Source: 23-10-09   rediff.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

New Head For Mahindra Satyam ANZ Operations

Mahindra Satyam has appointed Mr Bobby Gupta as head-sales and new business development in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to this assignment, he has diversified experience of business development and sales leadership in the Australian and Asia Pacific IT services market.

Source: 21-10-09   www.thehindu.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Jobless Rate Of Spain At 17.9%

The unemployment rate of Spain has stayed put at 17.9% in the third quarter. It is the highest jobless rate in the European Union. The number of people jobless in Spain now stands at 4.1 million.

Source: 23-10-09   news.bbc.co.uk    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Sun Microsystems To Slash 3,000 Jobs Worldwide

In the backdrop of delay in the acquisition of the company by Oracle, Sun Microsystems will be slashing 3,000 positions worldwide. The company plans to reduce the workforce across the North America, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), APAC(Asia-Pacific) and Emerging Markets regions by up to 3,000 employees over the next 12 months, the company said.

Source: 21-10-09   rediff.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

7,000 Jobs Lost In Germany As Quelle Shuts Shop

Mail-order and catalogue firm Quelle in Germany is closing down after 82 years of operation leading to a loss of 7,000 jobs. All workers at Quelle in Germany will lose their jobs. However, activities in central and Eastern Europe will continue.

Source: 20-10-09   news.bbc.co.uk    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

NYT To Axe 100 Newsroom Jobs

The New York Times is planning to cut 100 newsroom jobs by the end of this year. The newspaper said in a report that it would be offering buyouts to union and non-union employees and resort to layoffs if it cannot get enough people to leave voluntarily.

Source: 21-10-09   rediff.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Most US Firms Still Practising Cost Cutting Measures

Till now, many companies in the US are practising cost-cutting measures and more than 50% of the firms are in favor of reducing the bonus component of their employees, says a survey. The global consultancy firm Grant Thornton LLP said that most of the US companies are planning to lessen the average cost per employee by reducing various components of their employee's benefit and compensation package.

Source: 20-10-09   rediff.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Another Round Of Cost Cutting Measures At Air India

National Aviation Company Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, is taking measures to reduce its Productivity-Linked Incentive (PLI) payments in the remaining period of this fiscal by 70 per cent. It aims to take down the bill from Rs 650 crore to Rs 191 crore. The airline has 30,505 employees and the current wage bill stands at over Rs 3,100 crore. The airline, reeling under losses, has also introduced a leave without pay scheme and has already approved many applications. Other than these, the airline attempts to save Rs 111 crore per annum from rationalisation of menu, bar and cabin services of the airplanes and Rs 68 crore annually by renegotiating agreements with cabin crew.

Source: 23-10-09   www.business-standard.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

AI unions, Managers Have Decided To Talk For Cost Cuts

Hostile managers and employees at state-owned Air India have agreed to sit across the table to decide on salary cuts that could help the bleeding carrier heal itself. Their purpose is to save Rs 3,000 crore a year and boost revenue by Rs 2,000 crore per year.

Source: 17-10-09   Hindustan Times    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Racial Discrimination Rampant In UK Workplaces

A sting operation by the government uncovered prevalent racial discrimination against workers with African and Asian names. In an attempt to discover if employers were discriminating against jobseekers with foreign names, researchers sent nearly 3,000 job applications under false identities. Every false applicant had British education and work background. They found out that an applicant who appeared to be white would send only nine applications before receiving a positive response of either an invitation to an interview or an encouraging telephone call. At the same time, minority candidates with the same qualifications and experience had to send 16 applications before receiving a similar response. These alarming results have prompted, Mr. Jim Knight, the employment minister, to consider barring companies that are encouraging all this.

Source: 19-10-09   Hindustan Times    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

Mr. John Mullins Appointed As An Independent Director At Myntra.com

Myntra.com has appointed, Mr. John Mullins as an independent director to its board of directors. Mr. Mullins is currently serving as associate professor of management practice at London Business School and is also a visiting professor at Indian School of Business. Mr. Mukesh Bansal, CEO, Myntra, has said, "Myntra has steadily worked towards creating a personalization culture in India. The faith reposed by visionaries like John in Myntra strengthens our belief in the concept and its potential. This is a great addition to our Board and will bring a new level of strategic thinking, global benchmarking and international exposure."

Source: 20-10-09   alootechie.com    Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

 

 

People Management - Good article….

 

People Management Please Don't' Go! When your job becomes an eyesore, is it time to move on?…     Reading Time : 5 minutes (778 Words) Key learning : Unhappiness in one's job can be helped through dialogue There are many reasons for unhappiness in a job. Unreasonable boss is by far the most common reason for unhappiness How strongly do you feel the Monday morning blues? Do you detest the thought of working on a holiday as a working day itself causes enough heart burns? Does the very mention of your job bring a frown on your face? If the answer to all these questions is in affirmative then it is time for you to move on or may be make changes that make your stay comfortable. In the given economic scenario the latter alternative seems more viable and hence understanding how you can change the existing work atmosphere and recharge yourself can help in making the job work for you. The job blues Positive approaches can turnaround the most miserable situation into a favorable one. Thus, as you experience grave dissatisfaction and unhappiness in your job, it is important to analyze the reasons that are causing pessimism and negativity to creep in. According to experts there are six most common reasons that incite negative feelings towards one's job. Understanding these reasons can help in finding the right solutions and creating a favorable work environment. The reasons include: Stagnation As one experiences stagnation and feels stuck in a job, all negativities begin to surface. When people have nothing much to look forward to in their jobs they begin to feel claustrophobic and feel the urge to break away. This can be helped by talking it out with managers and opting for job rotation and other cross-functional assignments. Lack of recognition and acknowledgement Many times employees feel that their efforts have gone unnoticed even as they have work really hard to deliver the desired levels of performance. This can be a significant dampener and prevent employees from putting in their best in the future assignments. To address this problem, employees can confide in their mentor and communicate their disappointment and fear of being underplayed. A frank and transparent communication between the boss and subordinate can clear up many issues and hence it is advisable for employees to leverage the existing channels of communication to their maximum potential. Burn out Burn out or stress caused because of overworking can also be a reason of unhappiness in a job. Employees have to take a serious note of this as it has both mental and physical impact on one's well-being. Addressing the burn out issue would mean suggesting ways to reschedule work distribution and provide realistic target deadlines .When managers set unrealistic and overstretched deadlines, employees overwork to meet them for fear of losing their job. Managers should be more realistic and humane in their approach while setting targets and take the consent of employees in question. A agreeable deadline is better and more perceivable compared to one that is dictated by the boss. Wrong choice This is the most uncommon reason for unhappiness in a job, since only a handful of people believe that they have landed themselves in an unsuitable job. However, on realizing there is a gross mismatch between the job and self, the individual needs to discuss his concerns and look for proper jobs within the organization. However without a suitable job, the individual should leave and make place for someone who is better suited for the job. Poor interpersonal relationships Inability to get along with colleagues can make the entire work environment tense and unpleasant. Many times, employees complain of an unpleasant work environment where personal interaction is marked by political moves and power plays. Such work atmosphere is hardly motivating and can result in dwindling performance levels. Hence, the issue of unpleasant work relationships should be brought to the notice of senior leadership and correct action should be taken. Unreasonable boss This is by far the most common reason for unhappiness in a job. Most untimely exits are because of an unreasonable boss and the strain that he causes by setting unrealistic targets and pressuring people to meet them. In addition such bosses publicly rebuke their subordinates and make unfair comparisons. Dealing with such bosses is strenuous and can result in various stress-related problems if not handled in the early stages. The only sure way to reel out of such a footing is to quit! When the job does not work for you anymore it suggests a big change is waiting at the sidelines. The change could mean a change of job or a change within the job. Whatever be the case the onus of making one's job work lies with the individual, so the excuse of helplessness holds little meaning!. Published by The Manage Mentor.

HR Headlines: Oct-09 (Part-2)

For more article, Visit at : www.amreshanjan.co.cc

Mr Anil Ambani Foregoes Rs 50cr In Salary

As an austerity measure, chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Mr Anil Ambani has given up Rs 50cr in salaries and commissions from his group firms in 2008-09. However, he would still end up getting over Rs 50cr as sitting fees and the previous year’s commission.

Source: 28-09-09 www.telegraphindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Capgemini To Step Up Hiring In India

French IT giant Capgemini is hiring in a big way in India. In the first six months of this year, Capgemini recruited 5,586 people. According to a company source, the hiring would be around 100-150 per month for the next two quarters. Capgemini will increase its headcount in the country by 10 to 15 per cent in 2010. Currently, it has 21,000 employees in the country to provide outsourcing services to global customers, making India its largest location in terms of headcount and accounting for a fifth of its global workforce of about 90,000.

Source: 26-09-09 www.telegraphindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Gujarat Ranked 6th In Generating PSU Jobs

According to National Survey on SLPEs State Level Public Enterprises (SLPEs), Gujarat is ranked sixth in terms of generating employment in public sector units. Noticeably, Gujarat has made the highest investment among states in public enterprises. Andhra Pradesh topped the list of 10 states for generating jobs in the SLPEs although it was the fourth-largest investor. Andhra Pradesh generated jobs for 2,65,081 people as on March 31, 2007, in its SLPEs, while its investment in these units was Rs 32,993 crore (Rs 32.993 billion). Tamil Nadu, which ranked ninth in terms of investments in SLPEs, was the second-best employer in terms of jobs in the SLPEs.

Source: 28-09-09 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

New Pay Structure Accepted By IIM-A

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), has in principle accepted the new pay structure for faculty suggested by the Union government. However, its implementation has been kept in abeyance for a month as the faculty still had some concerns regarding promotion and recruitment policies. In its recent recommendations, the government had put a 40% cap on the number of professors at an institute who can get the additional grade pay.

Source: 29-09-09 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

60,000 Jobs To Be Created At Bharti Retail By 2015

The retail industry is back to its hiring ways. Bharti Retail will increase its head count to 60,000 by 2015 from 2,000 now as it has set a target to become a $1-billion company by then. Bharti Retail has around 30 stores, mainly in Punjab and Haryana and will open 40 more in the National Capital Region by end December. Currently, about 25 per cent people working at Bharti's Easy Day stores are matriculate.

Source: 28-09-09 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

ABN Amro's Wage Bill Rises Sharply In 2008-09

ABN Amro witnessed a steep rise in its wage bill during 2008-09 which shot up to 25.61 per cent of its total expenses, the highest among the major foreign banks operating in the country. At Deutsche Bank, wage bill constituted 24.33 per cent followed by Standard Chartered Bank at 21.09 per cent, HSBC at 18.01 per cent and Citibank at 17.56 per cent. For the 30 foreign banks operating in the country through a network of about 300 branches, wages accounted for 19.45 per cent of total expenses.

Source: 28-09-09 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Wipro To Set Up Development Centre In Melbourne

Wipro Technologies will set up a 150-seat development centre in Melbourne in December to provide integrated business, technology and process solutions to local clients. The Melbourne centre is expected to create 100 jobs in Victoria over the next 12 months. Currently, Wipro has more than 800 employees working for Australian clients.

Source: 01-10-09 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Residential Complex For Employees On RCF Surplus Land

The public sector fertilizer manufacturer, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF), may develop official residences for employees of public sector companies on the surplus land at its Mumbai manufacturing complex. The residential complex will be spread over 50 to 100 acres of the unutilized area of the total 600 acres of land that the company owns. Under the new project, high rise buildings will be constructed that will cater to relocation of employees from the old housing complex. Additionally, separate residential complexes will be built jointly with other public sector undertakings (PSUs) companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Oil majors such as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Gas Authority of India Ltd among others.

Source: 27-09-09 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Corus Workers Irked By Tata Jamshedpur Bonus

Corus workers in the UK are upset as Tata Steel has doled out a bonus to employees in India, while giving those in the UK a miss. Community Union, which represents the majority of workers in Corus, is preparing to confront the management on several pay-related issues. Tata Steel pays an annual bonus in India, while Corus pays a quarterly bonus. The July bonus has not been paid yet to UK employees. Tata Steel had recently announced bonuses for Jamshedpur employees at the rate of 18.5 per cent of the salary/wages (basic + DA) for the year 2008-2009 along with an ex-gratia payment of 8.33 per cent on arrears.

Source: 29-09-09 www.telegraphindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

China Job Market Looking Optimistic With Improving Economy

The improved economic scenario in China, boosted by the government’s 4-trillion yuan investment-led stimulus plan, is creating jobs in the market. According to the labour ministry, the jobs being created are already making up for much of the losses suffered by the economy.

Source: 29-09-09 Hindustan Times Business Compiled by Amresh Anjan

BoA-Merrill Appoints AIG AMC’s Mr Saurabh Sonthalia

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Mr Saurabh Sonthalia to head its capital markets business in India. This will be second innings for Mr Sonthalia at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as he had earlier quit the firm in 2006. Currently, he is chief executive officer at AIG Global Asset Management Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd in Mumbai.

Source: 29-09-09 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Tata Steel Restructures Top Management

Tata Steel has restructured its top management by creating a post of managing director for Corus’s operations in Europe. Mr B. Muthuraman, managing director of unified Tata Steel Group, has stepped down from his post. His responsibilities have been split between Mr Kirby Adams, CEO of Corus, and Mr Hemant Nerurkar, CEO and executive director of Tata Steel India and South East Asia. Both Mr Adams and Mr Nerurkar have been re-designated as managing director of Tata Steel Europe and Tata Steel (which also includes the operations of Singapore’s Natsteel and Tata Steel Thailand), respectively.

Source: 30-09-09 www.telegraphindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

New Senior V-P At Aricent

Communications software firm Aricent has appointed Mr Patrick Joggerst as senior vice-president of its worldwide sales.

Source: 02-10-09 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Top Brass Rejig At DLF

Realty giant DLF has restructured its top management team to strengthen the top brass of the company. Mr Ashok Tyagi has been appointed as the group CFO. Mr Tyagi would also head the commercial functions of the development vertical. Besides, Mr A S Minocha, would now be the non-executive chairman of rental business and the chairman of DLF Pramerica along with being the director of DLF Metro JV, Chairman of DLF Golf Resorts and lead DLF Hotels. Mr Ramesh Sanka has been promoted as managing director of the office business and would also be responsible for support functions, including finance and IT.

Source: 01-10-09 www.business-standard.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Reshuffle At Mahindra Stayam

In a restructuring move, Mr Vikram Nair, who was earlier the head of Europe operations of Tech Mahindra, has been appointed the head of business operations at Mahindra Satyam. Also, Mr Aloke Palsikar will now head central European and Nordic operations of Mahindra Satyam.

Source: 02-10-09 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Hartford Names Mr Liam E. McGee As New CEO

Life insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has named Mr Liam E. McGee, the former head of consumer banking at Bank of America, as its new chairman and CEO. McGee left Bank of America Corp. in August after a nearly 20-year career.

Source: 30-09-09 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Senior VP Hired By AOL For Advertising

AOL LLC has hired Mr Shashi Seth for the position of senior vice president of global advertising. Mr Seth will report to Mr Jeff Levick, the company's president of global advertising and strategy. Prior to this, Mr Seth was with Cooliris, where he served as chief revenue officer. He has also headed Google Inc.'s efforts to make money with YouTube.

Source: 29-09-09 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Obopay Hires New Executive VP For Global Engineering

Obopay (U.S.), a mobile money transfer service provider, has appointed Mr Dilip Nagaraja as its executive vice president for global engineering. In this role, Mr. Nagaraja will be responsible for the global engineering organisation across all Obopay offices.

Source: 30-09-09 www.thehindu.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Deputy CEO Appointed By BSE

The Bombay Stock Exchange has appointed Mr Ashish Chauhan as the deputy chief executive officer of the organization. Prior to this, Mr Chauhan was serving as chief information officer at Reliance Industries. He was also a part of the team involved with the setting up of the National Stock Exchange.

Source: 29-09-09 www.dnaindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Mr B Prasad Rao Is New BHEL CMD

Mr B Prasad Rao has taken over as the chairman and managing director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). Mr Rao possesses over 30 years of experience at BHEL in multiple operational and technical areas.

Source: 02-10-09 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan