Philips to lay off 1,600 workers

THE HAGUE: Dutch electronics giant Philips will cut "about five percent" of its 32,000 strong workforce in the medical division worldwide,
affecting 1,600 workers, a company spokesman told on Saturday.

"In this sector, about five percent of all workers will be laid off. There are a total of 32,000 employees in this division so that means 1,600 jobs will be lost," said Arent Jan Hesselink.

"We want to take all possible measures despite the sluggish economic scenario at present to maintain our profit levels and even improve them if possible," he said.

Most of the medical division employees are based in the United States "but this does not mean that workers will lose jobs where they are most in numbers."

Hesselink said the company wanted to be "as best prepared to face the effects of reduced economic growth or even recession, which many people are predicting will follow soon.

"The next step will be for us to see what eventually happens and when. We then have to negotiate with the people."

Philips head Gerard Kleisterlee said earlier this month: "Given the limited scope of the present economic scenario we have taken certain measures to maintain our profits."

Philips reported net income of 357 million euros in the third quarter of this year, 7.8% higher than the previous quarter, and sales of 6.3bn.

Courtesy: Times of India

Layoffs not to affect India ops: British Telecom

NEW DELHI: The UK-based British Telecom (BT), which announced 10,000 job cuts last week, said, "India will not be affected by any of the job cut
s elsewhere."

"India is a productive market and we are going steady in the region," BT Innovate and Group chief technology officer Matt Bross said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum-India Economic Summit here.

The three-day economic summit, organised jointly by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) started on Sunday amid fears of recession in major economies of the world.

BT has currently employed over 22,000 people in its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in the country.

Last year, BT had obtained licence for international long distance (ILD) and national long distance (NLD) services from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Bross said the company expected to post $2 billion in revenues by 2011 from the Asia Pacific region, one of the biggest emerging markets which currently contributes about “just a billion.”

Operating in over 170 countries, BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and Internet products services.

Meanwhile, global IT software provider CA announced it will invest $30 million for an additional facility in Hyderabad, which will house almost 1,000 people.

Regarding the job cuts, CA senior vice-president and general manager (India) Lokesh Jindal said, "We are upbeat about the company's progress and there will not be any job cuts." This investment will be raised from internal accruals, he added.

Companies operating in India are "upbeat" about the economic growth and the country's job market is totally insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis, industrialists said at the summit.

Courtesy: Times of India

GlobalLogic lays off 125 employees

NEW DELHI: In another hit to the IT sector, GlobalLogic, one of the largest outsourced product development companies in India, has laid off abou
t 125 employees.

While 108 employees were asked to leave ‘due to poor grading in the appraisals’ concluded in October, another 17 were told to leave because their ‘skill sets fell obsolete’.

The over $100-million company, which has delivery centres in Noida, Nagpur and Pune, confirmed the layoffs but said the figure is 115.

GlobalLogic CEO Peter Harrison, who flew in from the US this week, called an emergency townhall meeting to announce the drastic steps. “We believe in sharing the numbers (of layoffs) with employees as we don’t want to create any anxiety. A transparent organisation is the most productive one,” said its marketing head Rohit Sharma.

Over the last two years, Global-Logic reduced its headcount to 2,000 from 3,000. The company has also consolidated its verticals into three --B 2B, B2C and telecom--to reduce flab and overlap.

In another interesting twist, one of the co-founders and partner Rajul Garg has resigned from the executive management team as the HR head to pursue entrepreneurial activities ‘outside the company’. He now just has a position on the board. The company is now on a lookout for a new HR head.

Business flow from start ups and emerging product companies has been impacted due to the slowdown. To reduce its discretionary spend, GlobalLogic has done away with paper or plastic tumblers and provided coffee mugs to employees. Single employee pick or drops even at night are now curtailed.

The company has also restructured its management team under which the Indian operations head Mukul Jain will now become the global head. The new India country manager and the existing Ukraine and China heads will report to him.

Courtesy: Times of India

Chipmaker Lam Research cuts 600 jobs

LOS ANGELES: US chipmaker Lam Research Corp will shed 15 per cent of its workforce, or 600 employees, joining the list of technology companies t
rying to cope with declining sales and rising costs by cutting jobs.

The circuitry-etching tools company expects to save about $60 million a year through the job reductions. The company will be reducing other costs to achieve further savings of about $20 million annually.

The job cuts will affect regular, temporary and contract employees, and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year, the company said.

Last month, Lam Research posted a sharp drop in earnings and projected slow demand for the rest of this year.

A teetering economy and slumping consumer confidence have hit the semiconductor industry hard.

With demand in electronic goods plummeting, the semiconductor industry has made large-scale layoffs. Top chipmaker Applied Materials announced a 12 per cent cut of its workforce. National Semiconductor Corp cut up to 10 per cent, KLA-Tencor Corp up to 15 per cent, and Akamai Technologies Inc 7 per cent.

Courtesy: Times of India

Jet likely to announce a 20% cut in staff salaries

MUMBAI: With recession eating into its bottom line, private air-carrier Jet Airways is likely to announce a 20% cut in the salaries of its
pilots, engineers and some other staff.

"Chairman Naresh Goyal has convened a meeting of airline officials, pilots and engineers here tomorrow, to discuss the issue of salary cuts. An announcement to this effect is also likely," a source close to the development told reporters today.

The meeting is to be held at a five-star hotel in the metropolis, the source added.

Pilots and engineers to be affected by this move are understood to have expressed their opposition to it and are considering their response, the source said.

The airline employs around 13,200 personnel with around 2,000 of them drawing a salary of more than Rs 1 lakh a month. These officials comprise mainly pilots and maintenance engineers.

Despite repeated attempts, Jet Airways officials were not available for comment on the likely meeting tomorrow.

The air-carrier's move comes in the wake of steep losses and rising operation costs coupled with falling passenger demand.

According to aviation analysts, Jet Airways, which posted losses to the tune of Rs 384 crore in Q2 of the current financial year, is likely to post a net loss of Rs 1,890 crore in 2008-09.

In October, the airline had announced a lay-off of 1,900 employees as part of its drive to prune costs but had to retract, following political pressure.

Jet had, a few weeks back, terminated the services of 35 out of 240 expatriate pilots.

While taking back the 1,900 staff, Goyal had described them as his "children" and said that though cost-cutting initiatives would be pursued, there would be no lay-offs.

He had also said that he would sit with all of the airline's stakeholders to ensure that the airline was not grounded.

Courtesy: Times of India

Ten Best Tech Employers (India)

Courtesy: Times of India

Which are the best IT companies to work for and what is it that makes them so? Which are the companies which are setting new paradigms with their HR policy? The recent Dataquest's annual Best Employers survey, done in association with research firm IDC, has a few answers.

The survey sized up IT companies on various parameters, including employee strength, salary structure, training days, tenure of top management, growth opportunities etc.

Not surprisingly, the survey too felt the tremors of the present global economic turmoil troubling IT companies, with many of the tech biggies including Capgemini, IBM, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, CSC and Cadence refusing to be a part of the survey. Incidentally, it is for the first time in the survey's eight-year history that these companies have refused to participate.

Here's over to the winners.

1) iGate Global Solution


The top spot in the DQ Best Employers' ranking goes to iGate. Nasdaq-based iGate ranks high on infrastructure, policies and procedure, pride in saying that ‘I work for this company and work undertaken is crucial for the company's growth’.

The company has branded HR programmes like HAP-PSY-CAP (happy psychological capital) and I Love iGate to help boost employee satisfaction and instill a pride for working in the company. The company also has communities within iGate based around skills, regions as well as hobbies.

As for the challenges, company ranks at lowly #25 on the ‘independence to take decisions by the employees’ parameter. Also, according to the survey, ironically, while the company is seen by employees as an employer to be proud of, the outsiders give it a low score on a dream company to work for parameter.

2) RMSI

Next on the ranking is Geographic Information System (GIS) solution provider RMSI. The company which started as a joint venture with US-based Risk Management Software Inc (RMS) in 1992 has been a part of DQ Best Employers since 2003.

The company ranks no. 1 on salary hikes and at no. 2 on transparency of appraisal system and relevance of perks and benefits. During the past year (2007-2008) year, the company undertook distinct orientation towards leadership development, career development and open communication, according to the survey.

The company was also able to bring down its attrition rate from 14 per cent in the year previous to 11 per cent. The company also boasts of fourth highest rate of retention among the surveyed companies. Among the challenges, the company ranks `relatively poor' at no. 15 on HR front.

3) HCL Infosystems

At no. 3 in DQ Best Employers' survey is HCL Infosystems. Part of one of the country's largest IT group, HCL Infosystems is an IT products and infrastructure major.

The company ranks at no. 2 on recognition of initiatives and efforts at the time of appraisal and constructive feedback from manager/superior. The survey also gives the company second position on people, company image and job content. The company's two broad HR programmes include iLearn and iLead.

On the challenges front, the survey says that there seems to be dissatisfaction brewing among employees with the kind of work, with many employees terming it monotonous. The company recently announced plans to expand its systems integration (SI) business, with three new verticals defence, security and education. HCL Infosystems is also beefing up its exports portfolio.

4) Rolta India



Here's an IT company termed ‘outperformer' by a leading stock broking company recently. Rolta offers engineering design and geospatial information services (GIS) to clients in the infrastructure, oil & gas, power and defence sectors.

The company ranks at no. 4 on fairness of appraisal system and appropriate salary hikes. Last year the company invested heavily in training and infrastructure development according to the survey.

On the challenges front, as the company's employee base grows, it is foreseeing automation of its HR process. With the Indo-US nuclear deal back on track, the Mumbai-based technology company aims to double revenues from its power plant design and automation (PDA) practice by 2011.

5) Microsoft India


At no. 5 on the list is the Indian subsidiary of global software giant Microsoft. First MNC in the list, the company ranks at no. 1 on overseas opportunity and company image parameters.

The company employees also rank it fairly high on ‘relevance of perks and benefits' and quality of training parameter. On the challenges front, the employees rank the company low on `manager genuinely cares about my professional and personal growth' and `manager is always available when I need help or advice' parameters.

However, Microsoft India claims that it is replicating some of its global practices to resolve these issues. The company recently announced the appointment of ex-Dell chief Rajan Anandan as its MD.

6) Tata Consultancy Services



At no. 6 is India's largest IT services company TCS. Mumbai-based company gets top marks on overseas opportunity and company image parameters. The company also scores high on job security/stability parameter.

Last year saw the company go full stream ahead on its HR digitisation plan. The company also automated its appraisal system SPEED and learning system iCALMS (integrated competency and learning management system).

The company has also put in place a role-based structure that aims to capture the job profile across various functions. On the challenges side, the company seems to be under strain due to the current global economic crisis. The employees also gave the company low marks on salary, fairness of appraisal system, relevance of perks and benefits parameters.

The company's recent decision to delay promotions too seems to have created anguish among employees.

7) SAS India



Among the best workplaces to work for globally, SAS's India subsidiary seems to have successfully implemented its global HR practices in India.

The company scores highest on (1) job content parameter. The employees also rate the company relatively high on relevance of training (3), relevance of training to professional and personal growth (4) and relevance of perks and benefits (4).

Some of the global HR practices implemented by SAS India include flexible working hours, day-care benefits, concierge services and adoption assistance policy. The company also has a global online recruitment portal which helps employees seeking intra-company transfers across the globe.

On the challenges front, the employees rated the company relatively low on growth opportunities (9) and freedom to speech at meetings (9) parameters.

8) Synechron



At no. 8 is Synechron, a software solutions and service provider for capital markets, mortgage banking and insurance. The company gets top marks on salary and compensation parameter. The employees also rank it high on overseas opportunity parameter.

Last year company automated its HR repository by implementing HRMS system across all branches. The company also managed to reduce its attrition level and revamped its training module.

On the challenges front, the employees rated the company low on manager's concern about employee's professional; positive work environment; and personal growth and encouragement from managers to speak and express freely during meetings parameters.

The company plans to enter new geographies such as the UK, European Union, Australia, Gulf and South East Asia markets targeting BFSI clients.

9) Tavant Technology



Tavant Technologies, an IT solutions and services company ranks at no. 9. Tavant has been ranked no. 9 in the overall ranking and no. 2 in organisation culture/work climate and interpersonal relationships.

According to the survey, the company follows a fun-at-work model and lays stress on fulfilling the interests of employees. The company also has a forum called M-team that aims to take the employee feedback and raise various employee-related issues to the management.

On the challenges front, the company is rated low on company's leadership's contribution to the growth of the company, training and relevance of benefits and perks parameters by the employees.

Tavant specialises in building solutions and providing end-to-end services in the domains of service operations, consumer lending, ebusiness and trading and securities.

10) Span Infotech India

Next in the ranking, at no. 10, is outsourcing services company Span Infotech. EDB, a Norway-based IT company, recently acquired 50.1 per cent stake in Span Infotech.

The company is ranked highest (5) on exciting growth opportunities parameter, followed by amount of training; training and its relevance for professional and personal growth; company image; and company culture parameters. The employees give the company a rating of 7 on all these parameters.

The employees seems to have grouse over fairness of the appraisal system, transparency of the appraisal system and relevance of perks and benefits, with employees rating the company low on these parameters.

Span has been offering specialised services to ISVs and is strong in the insurance and financial services sector along with serving system integrators (SIs) and start-ups.

What makes BPO jobs hot?

NEW DELHI: Today freshers have multiple options, ranging from the IT industry to BPO, from retail to telecom to banking. So what should they cho
ose and why?

The BPO industry is among the most attractive industries. First, the industry changes personalities for the better. There are numerous examples of people who have been armed with life skills exuding confidence about their future after being in a BPO.

While functional skills can be acquired in any profession, developing life skills is a significant leap. Second is the exposure to the global best practices.

BPOs provide the headstart in terms of ‘process maturity’ and hence helps shape the thinking of young workforce. The third is the opportunity to learn international cultures.

Interacting everyday either with customers as in a call centre or being part of a team that works with international teams, today’s youngsters get the opportunity to experience what it is like to work as a global professional.

The fourth is the opportunity to grow in the industry itself. An interesting aspect is that many employees grow on to managing multi-million dollar businesses at a young age. From an entry-level position to a managerial position there are several examples of growth.

Then there are benefits of travelling outside the country, as part of the functional requirement. All this is in addition to the benefits of a good pay.

So why, then, are many freshers still not clear about making BPOs a career choice? One cause is the perception about the industry.

For an industry that has grown to Rs 50,000 crore in eight years, there has been a lot of talk about what this industry has to offer. There are always many positives and some negatives.

However, the negatives have caught the attention of people. One is the fact that unlike retail or IT which was largely associated with technical qualifications, higher pay and travelling abroad, the BPO industry came as a huge shock to society.

Here was an industry willing to pick up freshers, not requiring specialised educational qualification, paying them Rs 15,000 as starting salary, working at different times of the day and night and creating massive employment.

It defeated all conventional norms of employment. It was a contrarian industry which created quite a stir. The larger society could not digest the pace and quantum of change.

Instead of good things getting highlighted, the focus went on to some of the drags like rash driving BPO cabs, possible health issues of late night working and whether the social fabric will change with so much money at the disposal of a young workforce. This got highlighted rather than the huge good that the industry has created.

The consequence, BPOs got positioned as good for a stop-gap, not for a long-term career. How untrue. With over 8 lakh people employed, it represents a vibrant India. This is the place of action.

Courtesy: Times of India