Software and BPO industry body Nasscom on Wednesday said the business process outsourcing sector is not in the danger of losing jobs due to the ongoing economic downturn rather a net hirer in the current fiscal.
In a statement here Nasscom said, "Media reports suggest that the Indian BPO industry will see 2.5 lakh job losses by the first quarter of 2009, in the wake of downturn in the US and other developed economies. NASSCOM's research
and interaction with its member companies is not in support of this statement.
Our detailed industry performance and forecast for FY09 will be released in the next fortnight. However, on employment the industry will continue to be a net hirer in FY09 as a direct corollary of industry growth and fears of large scale job losses at an industry level are unfounded."
The industry body's comment comes in the wake BPO Industry Association President Samir Chopra stating that "severe job loss is expected because of recession.
We are going to request for a fiscal package from the Government but if that doesn't happen, then there be huge amount of losses in terms of manpower. I think a quarter of a million jobs will go."
The $11-billion BPO sector employs about seven lakh people.
Source: Agencies
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Were Jet officially responsible for sacking 1000 workers in September?
Much before its sack order to 1,900 employees turned into a publicity nightmare, Jet Airways had handed marching orders to 1,000 workers and even managed to keep it under wraps.
According to informed sources, Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had told investors that the company was able to synergise better between full service Jet Airways and budget airlines JetLite after trimming its staff.
"On the staff numbers, we have reduced the headcount in September by further 1,000 entries and now able to synergise the operations between Jet and JetLite," the sources said quoting Prock-Schauer.
Despite repeated attemps to elicit comments, Jet Airways spokesperson did not respond.
During September, Jet Airways had anounced that JetLite offered voluntary separation scheme to 687 employees.
In the same month, Jet and JetLite executed a codeshare agreement aimed at offering better connections and wider connectivity, besides having a common reservation system.
The carrier, which has a total of 13,000 employees, played out the sacking-and-reinstatement drama of 1,900 employees in October, with Chairman Naresh Goyal 'overruling' its Board decision to fire the employees.
"I apologise for all the agony you had to go through for two days. You can all come back to work from tomorrow. We have decided to take back all the employees," Goyal had said in a midnight press conference.
Jet came under attack from various ministers and agitating employees for the sudden decision to sack so many people immediately, especially ahead of Diwali. It, however, defended itself stating that the decision was taken to save the jobs of the other 11,100 employees and would result in savings of $1million a month.
Source: Agencies
According to informed sources, Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had told investors that the company was able to synergise better between full service Jet Airways and budget airlines JetLite after trimming its staff.
"On the staff numbers, we have reduced the headcount in September by further 1,000 entries and now able to synergise the operations between Jet and JetLite," the sources said quoting Prock-Schauer.
Despite repeated attemps to elicit comments, Jet Airways spokesperson did not respond.
During September, Jet Airways had anounced that JetLite offered voluntary separation scheme to 687 employees.
In the same month, Jet and JetLite executed a codeshare agreement aimed at offering better connections and wider connectivity, besides having a common reservation system.
The carrier, which has a total of 13,000 employees, played out the sacking-and-reinstatement drama of 1,900 employees in October, with Chairman Naresh Goyal 'overruling' its Board decision to fire the employees.
"I apologise for all the agony you had to go through for two days. You can all come back to work from tomorrow. We have decided to take back all the employees," Goyal had said in a midnight press conference.
Jet came under attack from various ministers and agitating employees for the sudden decision to sack so many people immediately, especially ahead of Diwali. It, however, defended itself stating that the decision was taken to save the jobs of the other 11,100 employees and would result in savings of $1million a month.
Source: Agencies
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
World Bank warns of a very deep global recession
Economic growth prospects for both high income and developing countries have deteriorated substantially and the deep global recession cannot be ruled out, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
The international banking crisis that erupted in September 2008 after more than a year of less acute financial turmoil has substantially reinforced the cylical downturn that was already under way, the bank said a report devoted to assessing economic prospects for 2009.
``Following the insolvency of a large number of banks and financial institutions in the United States, Europe and the developing world, financial conditions have become much tighter , capital flows to developing countries have dried up and huge amounts of market capitalization have evaporated,'' the bank said.
The bank predicted world economic growth will be 2.5 per cent in 2008 and 0.9 percent in 2009. It said developing countries will likely grow 4.5 percent next year, down from 7.9 per cent in 2007, while growth in high income countries will turn negative.
Even if the strong measures governments took to restore confidence in the international banking system work and credit begins to thaw, a number of developing countries are likely to be subjected to substantial strains, possibly including bank failures and currency crises, the bank said.
``In these very uncertain circumstances,” the bank said, ``policy makers must place a premium on reducing the likelihood of domestic turmoil by reacting swiftly and forcefully to emerging difficulties, including, if necessary, seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund.'''
The IMF provides rescue packages to countries experiencing financial crises while the bank, its sister institution, lends money or makes grants for development projects.
``People in the developing world have had to deal with two major external shocks, the upward spiral in food and fuel prices followed by the financial crisis, which has eased tensions in commodity markets but is testing banking systems and threatening job losses around the world,'' said Justin Lin, the bank's chief economist ``Urgent steps are needed to help reduce fallout from the crisis on the real economy and on the poorest.''
In response to the crisis the bank said it was increasing its support for developing countries, through new spending commitments of up to $100 million over the next three years. The bank said its private sector arm, the International Finance Corp, would help by providing trade financing, helping banks recapitalize or aiding infrastructure projects facing financial distress.
Source: Agencies
The international banking crisis that erupted in September 2008 after more than a year of less acute financial turmoil has substantially reinforced the cylical downturn that was already under way, the bank said a report devoted to assessing economic prospects for 2009.
``Following the insolvency of a large number of banks and financial institutions in the United States, Europe and the developing world, financial conditions have become much tighter , capital flows to developing countries have dried up and huge amounts of market capitalization have evaporated,'' the bank said.
The bank predicted world economic growth will be 2.5 per cent in 2008 and 0.9 percent in 2009. It said developing countries will likely grow 4.5 percent next year, down from 7.9 per cent in 2007, while growth in high income countries will turn negative.
Even if the strong measures governments took to restore confidence in the international banking system work and credit begins to thaw, a number of developing countries are likely to be subjected to substantial strains, possibly including bank failures and currency crises, the bank said.
``In these very uncertain circumstances,” the bank said, ``policy makers must place a premium on reducing the likelihood of domestic turmoil by reacting swiftly and forcefully to emerging difficulties, including, if necessary, seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund.'''
The IMF provides rescue packages to countries experiencing financial crises while the bank, its sister institution, lends money or makes grants for development projects.
``People in the developing world have had to deal with two major external shocks, the upward spiral in food and fuel prices followed by the financial crisis, which has eased tensions in commodity markets but is testing banking systems and threatening job losses around the world,'' said Justin Lin, the bank's chief economist ``Urgent steps are needed to help reduce fallout from the crisis on the real economy and on the poorest.''
In response to the crisis the bank said it was increasing its support for developing countries, through new spending commitments of up to $100 million over the next three years. The bank said its private sector arm, the International Finance Corp, would help by providing trade financing, helping banks recapitalize or aiding infrastructure projects facing financial distress.
Source: Agencies
General Motors India to hire 500 people
Even as companies are giving pink slips to employees as a result of the global meltdown, GM India is increasing its employee strength from the present 4,000 to 4,500 by 2009, a top official of the company said.
"We will be increasing the number of our employees from 4,000 to 4,500 by 2009," GM India Vice-President P Balendran told mediapersons here.
"The 500 include 300 for the car plant in Talegaon, 200 for the powertrain facility, also in Talegaon, and the engineering centre in Bangalore", he said.
On slashing prices, Balendran said the firm, which had been offering discounts ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 50,000, besides a discount of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 to government and PSU employees during the festival season, would continue them (discounts) till the end of this month.
However, the firm is planning a price hike of 2-3 per cent in January 2009, he said. The market, Balendran said, was sluggish and the usual sales growth during the festive season, which used to be in the range of 25-30 per cent, had come down to 5-7 per cent this season.
"The main reason for the sluggishness is there is no liquidity in the market. Eighty-five per cent of GM's vehicles are financed, of which 70 per cent are by private banks," he said.
On the Talegaon plant, Balendran said, "The capacity of the plant, which commenced operations in September 2008, can go up from 1.40 lakh units now to 3 lakh units."
Source: Agencies
"We will be increasing the number of our employees from 4,000 to 4,500 by 2009," GM India Vice-President P Balendran told mediapersons here.
"The 500 include 300 for the car plant in Talegaon, 200 for the powertrain facility, also in Talegaon, and the engineering centre in Bangalore", he said.
On slashing prices, Balendran said the firm, which had been offering discounts ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 50,000, besides a discount of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 to government and PSU employees during the festival season, would continue them (discounts) till the end of this month.
However, the firm is planning a price hike of 2-3 per cent in January 2009, he said. The market, Balendran said, was sluggish and the usual sales growth during the festive season, which used to be in the range of 25-30 per cent, had come down to 5-7 per cent this season.
"The main reason for the sluggishness is there is no liquidity in the market. Eighty-five per cent of GM's vehicles are financed, of which 70 per cent are by private banks," he said.
On the Talegaon plant, Balendran said, "The capacity of the plant, which commenced operations in September 2008, can go up from 1.40 lakh units now to 3 lakh units."
Source: Agencies
Is the slowdown, an opportunity in itself?
The current slowdown will also give an impetus to many technologies, some of which include Green IT, cloud computing, graphics and Web, writes Anil Chopra, editor at Cybermedia.
Media the world over is predicting this to be the worst economic slowdown ever. But then, people who have lived through various economic cycles would easily be able to split the hype from reality, and tell that while the causes of a slowdown vary, their impact is usually similar in nature. We can easily apply this formula to the current slowdown and predict that this one is no different from the previous one or the one before that.
Let's look at the slowdown of 2001, which happened due to the great dot com bust and compare it with the current one. Much before it actually happened, people predicted that there was a dot com bubble just waiting to burst, and bring with it a recession. But nobody of course could in their wildest of dreams predict the disaster that followed and brought down with it the US and world economy-the Sep 11 attack on WTC. Markets crashed, demands dipped, giving rise to higher unemployment, pink slips, and company closures.
Now let's come to the current slowdown. Much before it started, people knew that it would be caused by the US sub-prime crisis. Nobody however, had predicted that it would be so bad that many leading multi-national banks and financial institutes would go bankrupt. But the results of the current slowdown remain similar to the previous one-job cuts, stock market crash, dip in market demands, and the like.
So the key learning from slowdowns is that they're a way for markets to correct themselves and provide everyone an opportunity to think about the next big thing. After the dot com bust, the web emerged stronger than ever. Today everyone's going gaga over Web 2.0, social networking, and the benefits it provides. The humble server room transformed itself into a powerful data center to host business critical applications, and e-Commerce became a standard practice amongst most enterprises. The WTC attack reduced air travel, giving a boost to video conferencing, and also made DR and BCP common practice amongst enterprises.
Likewise, the current slowdown will also give an impetus to many technologies, some of which include Green IT, cloud computing, graphics, web, etc. We've talked about ten of them along with their likely future impact in this month's cover story.
It's also forcing CIOs to reduce their IT purchase and focus more on improving efficiencies within their existing IT infrastructures. We've talked about the impact of the slowdown on enterprises at length in our IT strategy guide for CIOs along with tips on how to survive the slowdown.
Lastly, the good thing about a slowdown is that it reduces complacency and forces people to think differently and identify new opportunities. So why should it be different during the current slowdown? Our IT careers story this time explains just how bad is the job market and areas that are growing.
So treat the slowdown as an opportunity and take yourself to the next level. All the best and wish you a fulfilling new year ahead!
Source: Cybermedia
Media the world over is predicting this to be the worst economic slowdown ever. But then, people who have lived through various economic cycles would easily be able to split the hype from reality, and tell that while the causes of a slowdown vary, their impact is usually similar in nature. We can easily apply this formula to the current slowdown and predict that this one is no different from the previous one or the one before that.
Let's look at the slowdown of 2001, which happened due to the great dot com bust and compare it with the current one. Much before it actually happened, people predicted that there was a dot com bubble just waiting to burst, and bring with it a recession. But nobody of course could in their wildest of dreams predict the disaster that followed and brought down with it the US and world economy-the Sep 11 attack on WTC. Markets crashed, demands dipped, giving rise to higher unemployment, pink slips, and company closures.
Now let's come to the current slowdown. Much before it started, people knew that it would be caused by the US sub-prime crisis. Nobody however, had predicted that it would be so bad that many leading multi-national banks and financial institutes would go bankrupt. But the results of the current slowdown remain similar to the previous one-job cuts, stock market crash, dip in market demands, and the like.
So the key learning from slowdowns is that they're a way for markets to correct themselves and provide everyone an opportunity to think about the next big thing. After the dot com bust, the web emerged stronger than ever. Today everyone's going gaga over Web 2.0, social networking, and the benefits it provides. The humble server room transformed itself into a powerful data center to host business critical applications, and e-Commerce became a standard practice amongst most enterprises. The WTC attack reduced air travel, giving a boost to video conferencing, and also made DR and BCP common practice amongst enterprises.
Likewise, the current slowdown will also give an impetus to many technologies, some of which include Green IT, cloud computing, graphics, web, etc. We've talked about ten of them along with their likely future impact in this month's cover story.
It's also forcing CIOs to reduce their IT purchase and focus more on improving efficiencies within their existing IT infrastructures. We've talked about the impact of the slowdown on enterprises at length in our IT strategy guide for CIOs along with tips on how to survive the slowdown.
Lastly, the good thing about a slowdown is that it reduces complacency and forces people to think differently and identify new opportunities. So why should it be different during the current slowdown? Our IT careers story this time explains just how bad is the job market and areas that are growing.
So treat the slowdown as an opportunity and take yourself to the next level. All the best and wish you a fulfilling new year ahead!
Source: Cybermedia
Obama urged to appoint a cyber security czar
Report indicates that cyber security a major threat to US and has urged president-elect Barack Obama to appoint a cyber security czar.
Cyber security will pose a major threat to the US during the next administration, a new report has said, urging.
The report, Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency, issued by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, also urged president-elect Barack Obama to appoint a cyber security czar.
"Cyber security is now a major security problem for the US. Only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cyber security will make us more secure," said the report.
Criticizing President George W. Bush for relying on the free market to secure the nation's networks, the report accused the Department of Homeland Security of being unable to protect the government from cyber attacks.
"In no other area of national security do we depend on private, voluntary efforts. We believe that cyberspace cannot be secured without regulation," it said.
The report recommended the creation of a White House office - Assistant to the President for Cyberspace - to coordinate responses to cyber threats across domestic, intelligence, military and economic elements of the government. It called for increased funding for research into cyber security.
Cyber security will pose a major threat to the US during the next administration, a new report has said, urging.
The report, Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency, issued by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, also urged president-elect Barack Obama to appoint a cyber security czar.
"Cyber security is now a major security problem for the US. Only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cyber security will make us more secure," said the report.
Criticizing President George W. Bush for relying on the free market to secure the nation's networks, the report accused the Department of Homeland Security of being unable to protect the government from cyber attacks.
"In no other area of national security do we depend on private, voluntary efforts. We believe that cyberspace cannot be secured without regulation," it said.
The report recommended the creation of a White House office - Assistant to the President for Cyberspace - to coordinate responses to cyber threats across domestic, intelligence, military and economic elements of the government. It called for increased funding for research into cyber security.
Is Arun Sarin being considered for Yahoo CEO post?
The former chief executive of Vodafone Group Plc, Arun Sarin, is among those being considered by board members at Yahoo Inc to take Arun Sarin Tycoons with a golden heart
Modern Moguls the top job at the internet firm, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Yahoo's directors are moving closer to a recommendation and have authorized checking references on a few key candidates, the paper said.
Yahoo could not be immediately reached for comment.
The names of several executives of leading technology and media companies have been floating around as possible replacements to Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.
Yang agreed to resign as CEO last month after investors criticized him for management missteps. The company said at the time that it was hiring executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Source: Agencies
Modern Moguls the top job at the internet firm, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Yahoo's directors are moving closer to a recommendation and have authorized checking references on a few key candidates, the paper said.
Yahoo could not be immediately reached for comment.
The names of several executives of leading technology and media companies have been floating around as possible replacements to Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.
Yang agreed to resign as CEO last month after investors criticized him for management missteps. The company said at the time that it was hiring executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Source: Agencies
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