The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Weekend is when the axe falls

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Monday, Feb 16, 2009
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Weekend is when the axe falls

Deepa Kurup

The spectre of retrenchment looms over IT companies

Last week Sapient gave pink slips to 300 employees
As much as 10 p.c. of global workforce of the Citrix Research and Development Centre lose jobs

Bangalore: As the weekend approaches, employees of the IT (information technology) services industry are gripped by a sense of disquiet and foreboding. With many multinationals either going public with their retrenchment figures or remaining secretive, employees find themselves living their professional lives on a week-to-week basis.

Late last week the axe fell at Sapient, the global business and IT consulting company, where more than 300 employees lost their jobs. “Except for the trading and risk management domain, projects across domains have been affected. Our managers informed us that the ‘underperformers’ and benchers (those not working on projects) would be weeded out,” said an employee at the Bangalore office. Over the past three months several projects have been significantly trimmed, the employee added.

In July 2008, this e-consulting firm reportedly laid off about 200. “With several projects cancelled and even more being delayed, this was bound to happen,” a mid-level manager told The Hindu. Company sources refuted rumours that office entrances were blocked and marching orders enforced unceremoniously in its Gurgaon office, where the maximum number of employees was given pink slips. Of its 6,400-member global workforce, 4,100 work in its offices in Delhi and Bangalore.

A company spokesperson confirmed that eight per cent of the staff was sent home with “good severance packages and full outplacement services”. “They will also be considered for rehiring on a ‘fast track’ basis,” the company said. Interestingly, the company continues hiring laterally. “With the downturn, clients seek more innovation. We need pointed skill-sets for which we are still hiring laterally,” the representative said.

Trends

Recently, Citrix Research and Development Centre doled out pink slips to 10 per cent of its global workforce. An employee, whose friend was retrenched last Friday, said that the office has been abuzz with rumours since the announcement of the fourth quarter results. Over 300 employees work in this software solutions company.

Rakesh Singh, managing director and vice-president Products-India, said that this is part of “a broader plan to streamline operations”.

“For instance, we reduce travel expenses with focus on holding virtual meetings and events by using our Citrix Online products such as GoToMeeting or GoToWebinar which allows us to do more with less,” he said.

Companies, including AOL, IBM, SAP, Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments, across sectors have announced job cuts globally. Several companies have briefed managers to conduct rapid evaluations and narrow in on “dispensable redundancies” in their teams, HR sources said.

A California-based multinational company, a leader in networking products, has laid off more than 100 employees in Bangalore, according to sources said. “We are interacting with our counterparts abroad and we know that there aren’t as many layoffs there. Unlike other companies, where formal announcements have been made, we were caught unawares,” an employee said.

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