Rising attrition in the IT industry has led companies to think of ways that will make employees stay with them. IT companies like Satyam, Wipro, HCL and TCS are asking recruits to sign collateral bonds when they join the company. Under the bond, new recruits are required to pay a certain amount of bond money. The amount is collected in a fixed deposit, which is given back to the employee on completion of the contract term. While Satyam takes Rs 2 lakh for two years, HCL Technologies takes Rs 2 lakh for one and half years. Wipro0 charges Rs 75,000 for two years and TCS charges the same amount for a year. The companies also arrange for a loan to pay up this amount if the recruit cannot afford it all at once. The EMI of this loan is deducted from the employee's salary. Companies are trying to justify this step pointing at the ‘slipperiness’ of employees but employees feel methods like collateral deposits are too drastic a step.
Source: 25-06-08 news.moneycontrol.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
IT Firms Hiring Interns To Cut CostsThe US economic slowdown is making IT-BPO firms increasingly hire interns to maintain costs as their profits come under pressure. For instance, this year Infosys Technologies saw its training cost touch over Rs 700 crore. To counter this, the company plans to get more work from interns working with the firm. The interns will undergo a five-week training programme, followed by 12 weeks of project work. The company claims that it is still investing time and money in training interns, while experts feel that the company is saving a lot as the cost of training interns is much lower than the salary it would have to pay for freshers who join as employees. Industry insiders have welcomed the concept at a time when overall placement numbers have shown a dip. Besides saving costs, companies are able to zero in on the best talent by hiring interns. TCS uses its ACE programme to gives an opportunity to foreign students to work with them. In the last two fiscals, 2,059 people (including foreign interns) have successfully completed internships with TCS.
Source: 24-06-08 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Curtains Fall on Bill Gates Era A big chapter in Microsoft Corp history came to a close as its Founder and Chairman Mr Bill Gates retired from the company putting CEO Mr Steve Ballmer into the spotlight. Mr Gates will continue with the company as its Non-Executive Chairman. Microsoft is going through a very challenging period with an escalating rivalry with the search engine giant Google Inc. Mr Ballmer replaced Mr Gates as the company's Chief Executive in 2000 and made one of the boldest moves in Microsoft's history, with a $47.5 billion bid to buy web pioneer Yahoo Inc. Microsoft grew from 30 employees in 1980 to almost 90,000 now but its massive bureaucracy is making it hard for the company to keep up with rivals.
Source: 25-06-08 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
TiE Session On Cyber Crime & Cyber LawTiE Delhi Internet Special Interest Group is organizing a day long session on Cyber Crime & Cyber Law to get clarity on cyber crime related issues from policy makers, Internet entrepreneurs who have experienced dealing with cyber crime first hand and legal experts. Key highlights of the session will be key note sessions by IT policy makers, overview of IT Act 2000, the trends in cyber crime/Internet fraud & its implications for internet entrepreneurs & professionals, importance of data security, steps to protect organizations from threats and Internet frauds, legal aspects, role of enforcement agencies and Internet entrepreneurs’ experiences. The session would be an ideal platform for internet entrepreneurs to acquire the required knowledge to take preventive measures & deal with cyber crime in your organization or your personal life. Session Details:
Date: July 05, 2008
Timings: 9.00 am to 5.30 pm
Venue: Jacaranda 1 & 2 India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
For further details, contact Nitin Agarwal, (M) 9818477719, nitin@tienewdelhi.org Or Manish Joshi, (M) 9971766455, manish@tienewdelhi.org
For Registrations, contact Puja Taneja, (M) 9810189811, puja@tienewdelhi.org , C-25 Second Floor, Phase I, Sector 8, Noida.
Source: 24-06-08 TiE Compiled by Amresh Anjan
India Top Talent Destination For BritainAccording to a report titled ‘Borderless Workforce’ by Manpower, India is one of the top three sources of talent for British employers. The other two are Poland and Latvia. The report suggests that despite internal protests against immigration, foreign workers continue to be welcomed in the United Kingdom. Nearly 20% of British employers depend on international recruitment to meet skills shortage in various roles: labourers, chefs/cooks, skilled trades, PAs and administrative assistants, accounting and finance staff, doctors and nursing staff. The report is based on a survey conducted over 28,000 employers and 29,800 workers. The report also says that globally the US is the most preferred location for workers to relocate to for work, followeed by the US. However, the UK is the first destination of choice among workers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Source: 25-06-08 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Management Development Programmes By FORE School of Management (FSM)FORE School of Management (FSM) New Delhi, has announced following Management Development Programmes to be conducted at its learning-oriented campus during July 2008:
- Effective Retailing Management (July 17-18, 2008)
- Enhancing Managerial Skills (July 21-25, 2008)
- Export Marketing & Freight Logistics (July 28-30, 2008)
For registration/additional information, please contact: Mr. Sat Parkash, Manager (MDP), FORE School of Management, B-18, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016, Phone (011) 2685 6301 (Direct), 4124 2424 (Extn. 498); Fax: (011) 2652 0509, 2696 4229; E-mail: mdp@fsm.ac.in. (Website: www.fsm.ac.in)
For complete details of individual programmes click at the relevant programme title .
For complete MDP Calendar (2008-2009) click here
For Response Sheet for MDP Calendar 2008-2009 click here.
For nomination form click here.
Source: 26-06-08 FSM Compiled by Amresh Anjan
TCS Trying To Alleviate Crude Crisis Tata Consultancy Services CFO Mr S Mahalingam has urged company employees to cut fuel costs by exercising restraint in use of fuel. The company is encouraging employees to use car pools, video conferencing and using software more efficiently. In April, TCS employees used ten thousand air tickets for domestic and international flights. In the same month, the company paid Rs 7 crore to private bus operators. TCS has also urged its administration department to arrange bus routes in a way that ensures less fuel consumption, without compromising employee comfort. The company is expecting to save around 10% of its travel and transportation costs.
Source: 21-06-08 news.moneycontrol.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Expat Indian Workers Acquire Skill-SetsA survey by human resource firm Manpower reports that the highest number of Indian nationals working abroad acquire skill-sets, including higher education, on the job. At present, about 53% of the nearly 2.2 million Indians working abroad acquire skills that can help them hold on to their jobs. Obviously, these professionals are looking to pursue a career abroad, rather than coming back to India. This also weighs down on India’s manpower requirements leading to talent shortage here, says the report. As per estimates, in the job market of 455.7 million, about 82.5 million people are unemployable—their talent does not match the needs of the industry.
Source: 25-06-08 www.dnaindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Pay Hikes In Gujarat No Cushion Against InflationAnnual increments in Ahmedabad-based companies across industries have hardly provided succor against inflation to employees. Those working in the textile industry are worst hit as most textile companies have reduced even the average annual rise of 10%. The industry is going through a bad phase and salaries have been directly impacted. In the pharmaceutical sector, employees are not satisfied with the kind of increments that they have got. Companies such as Cadila Healthcare, Torrent Pharma and Alembic have recently hiked salaries in the range of 10-20%, averaging around 15%. However, the hike has been eroded by rising prices. The chemical industry, although hit hard by high input costs, has offered average increment around 20%. Compared to these, employees in Information Technology are better off with better than average remunerations.
Source: 21-06-08 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
GoAir Retrenches 10% JobsIn a bid to prune its rising wage bill by 40 per cent, the country's smallest low-cost carrier GoAir has decided to axe 10 per cent of its staff. There are clear signals that mostly senior-level jobs will be cut down. While the company has already shown the door to 13 expatriate pilots, in total, around 140 jobs will be trimmed. Indian carriers are facing huge operational losses due to high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices. While some airlines are resorting to route-rationalisation and deferment of aircraft acquisition, others are cutting staff costs.
Source: 25-06-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Yahoo! To Ramp Up India Headcount In 2008; Reorganization On The CardsInternet major Yahoo! is looking to more than double its employee strength in India to close to 2,700 by the end of 2008. Yahoo! has already added more than 1,000 employees for its India operations since the beginning of 2008 and further 500 people could be added to its headcount. The year started with 1,200 people on Yahoo! rolls in India, which has now grown to close to 2,200 employees. While its recruitment plans for India look aggressive, globally the picture is gloomy with many top ranking executives reported to have exited the company following the failed takeover attempt by software giant Microsoft. According to various technology blogs, three executives have put in their papers. These include Mr Brad Garlinghouse, Mr Vish Makhijani, General Manager of Yahoo's search business, and Mr Qi Lu, the top engineer for Yahoo's Panama search marketing platform. Meanwhile, Yahoo President Ms Sue Decker is considering a reorganization that would centralize Yahoo mail, search and homepage divisions into a global product organization. Earlier this year, the internet search major had announced that it intends to cut down on about 1,000 jobs. In February, Yahoo! reportedly sacked about 40 employees mainly at its Bangalore R&D centre due to non-performance.
Source: 23-06-08 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Nokia Siemens New Facility Coming Up In Tamil NaduNokia Siemens Networks will invest Rs 300 crore over three years to establish a production facility at the SIPCOT Orgadam high-technology special economic zone in Tamil Nadu. The company is a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Nokia Siemens B.V. and is one of the leading manufacturers of telecom equipment in the world. The plant would employ 400 people directly and another 100 indirectly. Tamil Nadu is fast becoming a hub of telecom industries in the country as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and several leading telecommunication equipment manufacturing companies have set up base in the state.
Source: 27-06-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Rs 25 Crore Salary For Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh Ranbaxy Laboratories’ promoter Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh has seen a huge salary hike after he sold a strategic stake in his company to Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo. According to the company's extraordinary general meeting notice, Mr Singh’s salary and allowances now stand at of Rs 25 crore per annum as against Rs 19.58 crore earlier. His salary will remain steady at Rs 25 crore till 2011. A resolution to be passed in the EGM, to be held on July 15, will seek to allow the board of directors to revise his salary from time to time. Mr Singh has also been invited to join the global management team of Daiichi Sankyo. The Japanese company is looking to amend the existing employee stock-option scheme to the effect that the maximum number of stock options granted to an employee in a year shall be from 40,000 to 3 lakhs.
Source: 21-06-08 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Google Tops Popularity Charts In Corporate AmericaAccording to the annual Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient poll, Google Inc enjoys the best reputation in corporate America. Its employee perks, for instance providing 'nap pods' for a quick break during the day and allowing engineers to spend 20 per cent of their work time on side projects that may spark new ideas, have soared the internet search leader’s popularity. The ratings are based on how companies treat their employees and their workplace environment. In contrast, the US airline industry saw its popularity tumbling down for cutting employee pay while raising prices and fixing fees for formerly free services like meals and checked bags. With its reputation for treating workers well, Google grabbed the No. 1 spot from Microsoft Corp, which fell to 10th place. The poll rated the reputations of 60 top US companies and corporate America at large.
Source: 23-06-08 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Deloitte Consulting India Hiring Talent From Abroad Deloitte Consulting India, the local consulting arm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, is hiring senior executives from its member firms worldwide, thus marking a reverse movement of skilled manpower. The executives are being hired to provide strategic consulting services to Deloitte’s clients in India.14 senior professionals have been transferred to India and about 15 more will be hired by the end of the current calendar year.
Source: 23-06-08 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Spice Chairman, MD Call It A DayFollowing Idea Cellular’s acquisition of a 40.8 percent stake in Spice Communications, latter’s Chairman Mr B.K. Modi and Managing Director Mr Dilip Modi resigned from the board. Idea Cellular is set to merge with Spice Communications through a share swap arrangement. Under the deal, Spice shareholders would get 49 Idea shares for every 100 shares they hold.
Source: 25-06-08 www.dnaindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Cognizant Director Elected As AMCHAM TN HeadThe Tamil Nadu chapter of The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) has got a new Chairman in Mr R Ramkumar, Director, Corporate Marketing, Research and Communications of Cognizant Technologies. Mr G S Ramesh, President, Kemin Industries South Asia Private Limited, has been elected the Vice Chairman for the year 2008-09. Mr Ramkumar is a veteran of bilateral trade between the US and India and possesses deep understanding of industry issues while Mr Ramesh holds vast experience in the manufacturing industry.
Source: 23-06-08 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Hibernian To Shift 600 Jobs To BangaloreHibernian, a financial company based in Ireland, has decided to move about 600 jobs to Bangalore due to cost considerations. The jobs will be transferred over three years. Hibernian’s parent company Aviva already has back office operations in Bangalore. Initially, 80 jobs will be moved out from Cork, Galway and Dublin. Later on, as many as 500 more jobs will be transferred, majority of which will be based out of Dublin. However, Hibernian’s corporate headquarters would remain in Dublin. The workers’ union, Unite, has expressed protest at the loss of such a large number of good quality jobs.
Source: 25-06-08 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Citigroup To Trim 6,500 Investment Banking Jobs Following a loss of about $15 billion in the past two quarters, Citigroup is set for aggressive staff trimming as it plans to fire about 6,500 employees from its investment banking business. Citigroup has nearly a 65,000-strong investment banking workforce across the world and it plans to lay off 10 per cent of that. This round of layoffs comes after close to 10,000 employees were fired earlier this year. The company has more than 3,50,000 employees on its payrolls across the world. According to reports, even senior managing directors would not be immune from the layoffs.
Source: 24-06-08 www.business-standard.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Lehman Brothers Rehires Two Former ExecutivesInvestment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is bringing back two executives who had left in 2007 for unspecified reasons. Last week, the company posted its first quarterly loss as a public company. Lehman is hiring Mr Michael Gelband, who resigned last year as global head of fixed income, to the newly created post of global head of capital markets. Secondly, Mr Alex Kirk, Co-Chief Operating Officer for the fixed income division until 2007, is being rehired to the post of global head of principal investing, succeeding Mr Dave Goldfarb. The latter will take up the newly created post of Chief Strategy Officer. Meanwhile, Mr Gerald Donini, former head of Americas Equities, has been named as global head of equities.
Source: 24-06-08 news.yahoo.com
Compiled by Amresh Anjan
