Japan's Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it was cutting 15,000 jobs and closing 27 plants worldwide as it braces for a big loss this due to the economic crisis.
Agencies
Showing posts with label economic crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic crisis. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
India to create 90 million jobs across sectors
The "India Shining" story may be under stress by the ongoing economic crisis, but some sectors and career options still hold promise for job seekers this year, according to human resource experts.
Leading advisory Boston Consulting Group says India will have a demand for 85-90 million people across various sectors, and the majority of the demand will come from high-growth industries like IT, outsourcing, banking, retail and healthcare.
Similarly, a survey by HR consultancy Manpower projects hiring to rise steadily by around 18 per cent from this quarter in many sectors, signifying that jobs in India may not be entirely affected by the financial turmoil in rich nations.
"India poses a far more positive outlook as compared to what has been happening across the world," said Cherian Kuruvila, director operations, Manpower India, adding that seven per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country showed that the economy remained healthy.
"Employers in the mining and construction industries as also services sector are especially looking to scale up," Kuruvila said, but added that new jobs won't be distributed evenly through all regions and industries.
India has a work force of 484 million people, of which 273 million work in rural areas, 61 million in manufacturing and about 150 million in services, says the Boston Consulting Group that recently conducted a study on the country's services sector.
"Going forward, the Indian economy is likely to be overwhelmingly dependent on the growth of services. More than 70 per cent of India's incremental GDP and 60 per cent of new jobs over the next five years are expected to be generated by services."
A survey across the Asia-Pacific region by TNS, a market research and business analysis firm, with Gallup International, a global human resource consulting firm, also threw up interesting findings.
Sixty-two per cent of the Indians polled felt they would be able to hold on to their jobs in 2009 and the 57 per cent who expected unemployment to rise did not not consider they would be the ones affected.
"It seems, despite the slowdowns and reports of downsizing, there is an overall confidence among the employed in India that 'My job is secure! Difficulties, if any, are for others, not me'," said TNS India executive director Chhavi Bhargava.
Experts concede that the present financial meltdown has raised doubts over the performance of some industries and its impact on salaries and perks, but hope Indian businesses will come out of the slump earlier than their counterparts overseas.
"The impact on salary was felt in 2008 and it may continue till some time. The payouts were significantly lower than the 15-200 per cent bonus payouts in 2007," said Absolute HR Services chief executive Kunal Banerji.
"Gone are the days of experimentation with jobs. I would advise employees not to be adventurous checking different jobs. Stability is the mantra," said Confiar Consultants managing director Vivek Ahuja.
Apart from advising employees to keep their jobs this year, HR consultants also feel these are also the times when people will turn to age old values and ethics and play by the book.
"The old adages like no substitute for hard work and no short-cuts to success are back in vogue," Banerji said. "Stay hungry for work or stay hungry is the mantra for corporate India."
Agencies
Leading advisory Boston Consulting Group says India will have a demand for 85-90 million people across various sectors, and the majority of the demand will come from high-growth industries like IT, outsourcing, banking, retail and healthcare.
Similarly, a survey by HR consultancy Manpower projects hiring to rise steadily by around 18 per cent from this quarter in many sectors, signifying that jobs in India may not be entirely affected by the financial turmoil in rich nations.
"India poses a far more positive outlook as compared to what has been happening across the world," said Cherian Kuruvila, director operations, Manpower India, adding that seven per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country showed that the economy remained healthy.
"Employers in the mining and construction industries as also services sector are especially looking to scale up," Kuruvila said, but added that new jobs won't be distributed evenly through all regions and industries.
India has a work force of 484 million people, of which 273 million work in rural areas, 61 million in manufacturing and about 150 million in services, says the Boston Consulting Group that recently conducted a study on the country's services sector.
"Going forward, the Indian economy is likely to be overwhelmingly dependent on the growth of services. More than 70 per cent of India's incremental GDP and 60 per cent of new jobs over the next five years are expected to be generated by services."
A survey across the Asia-Pacific region by TNS, a market research and business analysis firm, with Gallup International, a global human resource consulting firm, also threw up interesting findings.
Sixty-two per cent of the Indians polled felt they would be able to hold on to their jobs in 2009 and the 57 per cent who expected unemployment to rise did not not consider they would be the ones affected.
"It seems, despite the slowdowns and reports of downsizing, there is an overall confidence among the employed in India that 'My job is secure! Difficulties, if any, are for others, not me'," said TNS India executive director Chhavi Bhargava.
Experts concede that the present financial meltdown has raised doubts over the performance of some industries and its impact on salaries and perks, but hope Indian businesses will come out of the slump earlier than their counterparts overseas.
"The impact on salary was felt in 2008 and it may continue till some time. The payouts were significantly lower than the 15-200 per cent bonus payouts in 2007," said Absolute HR Services chief executive Kunal Banerji.
"Gone are the days of experimentation with jobs. I would advise employees not to be adventurous checking different jobs. Stability is the mantra," said Confiar Consultants managing director Vivek Ahuja.
Apart from advising employees to keep their jobs this year, HR consultants also feel these are also the times when people will turn to age old values and ethics and play by the book.
"The old adages like no substitute for hard work and no short-cuts to success are back in vogue," Banerji said. "Stay hungry for work or stay hungry is the mantra for corporate India."
Agencies
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Google staff will not get bonus this year
Google Inc, owner of the world’s most-used search engine, is giving employees mobile phones instead of cash gifts this year as it reins in costs during the recession, according to a person familiar with the matter.
About 85 per cent of workers will get a handset powered by Google’s Android operating system as a holiday gift, said the person, who asked not to be identified. Google handed out $1,000 cash gifts to most employees last year.
Chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said last month that Google is seeking to control expenses and add fewer jobs as the global slump curbs online advertising growth. T-Mobile USA Inc began marketing the G1 Android phone in October, offering many of the same features as Apple Inc’s iPhone, including Web browsing.
The holiday gift is separate from the performance bonus handed out by the company, the person said.
“The current economic crisis requires us to be more conservative about how we spend our money,” Mountain View, California-based Google said in an internal memo that was posted on technology industry blog Valleywag.
The memo lists 17 countries where the phone won’t work, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. Employees in those countries will receive about $400, the cash value of the phone, Google said in the memo.
Krista Bessinger, a Google spokeswoman, didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Ad spending
Google, which offers employee benefits such as free gourmet lunches and massages, has clamped down on costs as the recession squeezes online ad revenue. Douglas Anmuth, an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York, lowered his forecast for US Internet ad spending last week by 11 per cent to $25.1 billion in 2009.
Google added 519 workers in the third quarter, compared with 2,130 in the same period a year earlier. Google said last month it would reduce the use of contract workers. At the end of the quarter, the company had more than 20,000 regular employees, up from almost 11,000 at the end of 2006.
Technology companies throughout Silicon Valley and beyond are grappling with a slowing economy, forcing them to cut workers and roll back other expenses. Printer and computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. is freezing salaries to lower expenses, people with knowledge of that decision said. Technology services company Unisys Corp said yesterday it was cutting about 4.5 per cent of its workforce and halting some pay raises.
Half of chief information officers are looking to cut consulting-services costs, 35 per cent want to reduce computer and server expenses, and 23 per cent are seeking savings on software, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc survey.
Source: Agencies
About 85 per cent of workers will get a handset powered by Google’s Android operating system as a holiday gift, said the person, who asked not to be identified. Google handed out $1,000 cash gifts to most employees last year.
Chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said last month that Google is seeking to control expenses and add fewer jobs as the global slump curbs online advertising growth. T-Mobile USA Inc began marketing the G1 Android phone in October, offering many of the same features as Apple Inc’s iPhone, including Web browsing.
The holiday gift is separate from the performance bonus handed out by the company, the person said.
“The current economic crisis requires us to be more conservative about how we spend our money,” Mountain View, California-based Google said in an internal memo that was posted on technology industry blog Valleywag.
The memo lists 17 countries where the phone won’t work, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. Employees in those countries will receive about $400, the cash value of the phone, Google said in the memo.
Krista Bessinger, a Google spokeswoman, didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Ad spending
Google, which offers employee benefits such as free gourmet lunches and massages, has clamped down on costs as the recession squeezes online ad revenue. Douglas Anmuth, an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York, lowered his forecast for US Internet ad spending last week by 11 per cent to $25.1 billion in 2009.
Google added 519 workers in the third quarter, compared with 2,130 in the same period a year earlier. Google said last month it would reduce the use of contract workers. At the end of the quarter, the company had more than 20,000 regular employees, up from almost 11,000 at the end of 2006.
Technology companies throughout Silicon Valley and beyond are grappling with a slowing economy, forcing them to cut workers and roll back other expenses. Printer and computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. is freezing salaries to lower expenses, people with knowledge of that decision said. Technology services company Unisys Corp said yesterday it was cutting about 4.5 per cent of its workforce and halting some pay raises.
Half of chief information officers are looking to cut consulting-services costs, 35 per cent want to reduce computer and server expenses, and 23 per cent are seeking savings on software, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc survey.
Source: Agencies
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Mobile phone sales set to slide in 2009!
An IDC report Says the impact of economic crisis on mobile phone market may not continue past 2009.
Technology research firm IDC said in a report that the global mobile phone sales are set to slide for the first time since 2001 as a result of the global economic crisis.
The report forecasts that total mobile phone volumes would be 1.9 per cent lower in 2009 than the 2008 levels, said a press release.
In 2001, the shipments had declined 2.3 per cent. Over the past several years, the mobile phone market has enjoyed double-digit annual growth due to an increased emphasis on emerging markets.
However, emerging market growth has been steadily slowing as these markets mature, the release said. IDC now expects worldwide growth to be just 7.1 per cent in 2008 before slipping into negative growth in 2009.
A number of major industry players, including component suppliers, handset makers, and operators have announced their concerns about handset volumes in 2009.
Most have indicated that they expect a year-over-year decrease due to the flagging global economy, the release added.
The report stated that it did not expect the downturn to continue past 2009, with the market in 2010 showing signs of revival as the economic recovery takes effect. "Converged mobile devices remain a much sought-after option for many consumers," noted Ramon Llamas, senior analyst, Mobile Devices Technology and Trends.
He added that users have come to realize what these devices can do beyond voice telephony, especially when it comes to running applications. In response, handset vendors have been building the product and applications portfolios to catch this wave of opportunity.
Technology research firm IDC said in a report that the global mobile phone sales are set to slide for the first time since 2001 as a result of the global economic crisis.
The report forecasts that total mobile phone volumes would be 1.9 per cent lower in 2009 than the 2008 levels, said a press release.
In 2001, the shipments had declined 2.3 per cent. Over the past several years, the mobile phone market has enjoyed double-digit annual growth due to an increased emphasis on emerging markets.
However, emerging market growth has been steadily slowing as these markets mature, the release said. IDC now expects worldwide growth to be just 7.1 per cent in 2008 before slipping into negative growth in 2009.
A number of major industry players, including component suppliers, handset makers, and operators have announced their concerns about handset volumes in 2009.
Most have indicated that they expect a year-over-year decrease due to the flagging global economy, the release added.
The report stated that it did not expect the downturn to continue past 2009, with the market in 2010 showing signs of revival as the economic recovery takes effect. "Converged mobile devices remain a much sought-after option for many consumers," noted Ramon Llamas, senior analyst, Mobile Devices Technology and Trends.
He added that users have come to realize what these devices can do beyond voice telephony, especially when it comes to running applications. In response, handset vendors have been building the product and applications portfolios to catch this wave of opportunity.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Online networks helps job-seekers
Janel Landon, who runs a small PR consultancy in Chicago, has long been aware of the potential of online networks: now in her mid-50s and facing a global recession, she's decided to sign up.
"Given the state of the economy, I recently decided to jump on board," Landon told Reuters. "Professional networking is a 'must do' during unstable economic times."
The economic crisis slamming firms across the globe has sparked a spike in usage of professional networks -- Xing and LinkedIn are key sites -- as people hedge against losing work and laid-off employees seek jobs.
U.S. unemployment hit a new 14-year high in October and according to online job advertising firm Monster, recruitment activity on the Web plunged to its lowest level in nearly three years. Jobless rates are also rising in Europe.
Traffic on the world's top professional Web networks has surged since the financial crisis started to make headlines, with top player, privately held LinkedIn, notching 25 percent more registrations in September than forecast.
"Nobody has ever seen anything like this before," said Kevin Eyres, head of LinkedIn's operations in Europe. "Now we are growing by almost one new user each second."
Membership on LinkedIn has jumped to more than 31 million from 18 million at the start of the year, growing fastest in the financial services, media, education and technology fields, Eyres said. The firm has not disclosed any financial details.
To read on...click on the link below:
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-36700120081126?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
"Given the state of the economy, I recently decided to jump on board," Landon told Reuters. "Professional networking is a 'must do' during unstable economic times."
The economic crisis slamming firms across the globe has sparked a spike in usage of professional networks -- Xing and LinkedIn are key sites -- as people hedge against losing work and laid-off employees seek jobs.
U.S. unemployment hit a new 14-year high in October and according to online job advertising firm Monster, recruitment activity on the Web plunged to its lowest level in nearly three years. Jobless rates are also rising in Europe.
Traffic on the world's top professional Web networks has surged since the financial crisis started to make headlines, with top player, privately held LinkedIn, notching 25 percent more registrations in September than forecast.
"Nobody has ever seen anything like this before," said Kevin Eyres, head of LinkedIn's operations in Europe. "Now we are growing by almost one new user each second."
Membership on LinkedIn has jumped to more than 31 million from 18 million at the start of the year, growing fastest in the financial services, media, education and technology fields, Eyres said. The firm has not disclosed any financial details.
To read on...click on the link below:
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-36700120081126?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
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