Patni cuts off workforce by 3%

In July, Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems too gave pink slips to 400 employees on grounds of non-performance.

Terming it as a routine exercise and not a slowdown setback, country’s sixth-largest exporter said that it is an effort to weed out non-performers.

Rajesh Padmanabhan, vice-president and head, global HR, Patni, said, “This is an absolutely regular appraisal that is important for any performance-driven organisation. It is something standard we do every year. Employees who have got 0-1 rating on a scale of 5 typically form the basis for the first-level shortlist. These are performance-based resignations; we’ve not issued any termination letters.”

However, industry sources reveal that the laid off employees included several project managers as well. Incidentally, while in case of TCS, the retrenched number was about 0.5 per cent of the workforce, for Patni, it made for closer to 3 per cent of the 14,800-strong workforce.

Narendra K Patni, Chairman and CEO, Patni Computer Systems said, “The overall market environment remains challenging with prevailing global uncertainties. We are cautious in our short-term outlook but remain positive on long-term prospects and are continuing our investments in identified areas.”

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HP India to cut 1,000 jobs?

Hewlett-Packard’s decision to eliminate nearly 25,000 of its 320,000 jobs worldwide is expected to have a significant impact on its Indian operations too.

Analysts in India believe that in the short term, the company could see off some 1,000 people, and that in a three year period this could go up to 6,000 of its nearly 60,000 people in the country.

The computer and printer maker’s job cuts come as part of its plan to integrate Electronic Data Systems (EDS), the computer services giant that HP acquired for $13.9 billion in August as part of an effort to match IBM in the services space.

Following the acquisition, a workforce reduction was seen as inevitable, but the figure HP has announced is way beyond anybody’s expectations.

Kapil Dev Singh, managing director of research firm IDC India, said HP’s announcement mostly stems from the global economic scenario. “It’s an instant fall out of what’s happening on Wall Street. The IT accounts of banking and financial institutions (BFSI) have been shrinking. So hiring for this space has been put on a slow burner by global companies,” he said.

Mohan Lal Menon, managing director of strategy advisory firm Sentient, said a lot of overlapping was expected with the integration of HP and EDS Mphasis (in India, EDS had previously acquired Mphasis).

“Most of it would have been in the areas of HR, administration, sales and marketing. But the trigger for HP is definitely the precarious conditions in the BFSI space across the US, Europe and Asia. HP seems to be ahead of the curve, towards planning for the economic downturn,” he said.

Till the time of going to print, HP had not responded to questions sent by TOI on the impact HP’s workforce reduction move would have on India.

However, a senior official at Mphasis said no immediate impact was expected on Mphasis. “We have been hiring junior to top talent. We have been expanding our footprint across the country. So its business as usual,” he said.

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