Satyam to lay off 5,000 employees?

This could be shocking news for the employees of the Satyam Computers, as new board of the company may press to lay-off 5,000 employees. The meeting of new board members of Satyam Computer is scheduled to be held on June 11, and likely to take core decision including the laying off 5000 employees.

IT firms are hit due the economic crisis in the world. The board of directors will take final decision on the lay-off on the scheduled meeting on June 11. It would be tough time for the employee of Satyam Computers, as they might come know about the lay-off after the board meeting.

Due to the corporate fraud, Satyam Computers has los many contract from its clients across the world. There will pressure on the management to maintain the staff due to having less contacts in the process. Many IT companies have been adopting cost cut measures to keep themselves fit during the economic crisis. The employees of the scam hit Satyam Computers are facing two blows – one the impact of the global crisis on IT sector and other the management decision to reduce strength.

In order bring the company on the development tracks, the management of Satyam might opt the decision to lay-off employees. However, this would be clear after the board of directors meeting. The employees of the company will be waiting for the board of directors meeting that will decide their fate.

Like other companies, Satyam Computer may also take decisions related to lay-off and cost cut measures. The company has lost around its 600 customers due the fraud. In May, CP Gurnani, Sanjay Kalra and Ulhas N Yargop of Tech Mahindra joined Satyam Computers as the new directors. Now the company has ten board of directors including six government appointed directors. Now the board has to take final decision on lay-off, which will decide fate of around 5,000 employees of Satyam Computers.

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Satyam Lay off Job Cut: Satyam Fires 100 Hyderabad employees

It was in September when the news of Satyam layoff first came in, but yesterday, Satyam went ahead and made another round of lay-offs from its base city of Hyderabad. Satyam fired 100 employees citing reasons which are the usual ones like - "behavioural issues", "poor performance" in an performance assessment. Not only that, they went way too ahead and cited reason like - "delay in filling appraisal forms" and even "poor dressing" at work - appears to be a lot weird reasoning.

It is learnt from the news reported that it was a forced resignation - affected employees were given just 2 hours time to decide to resign or services to be terminated.

Probably, people took inspiration from the Jet Airways employees lay off who went berserk after jet airways announced lay offs. Those who were laid off alleged that the company chose to put the blame on them as against owning up for the financial crunch it seems to be facing. They point out that ratings of most employees this year in its "Smart" appraisal exercise (with S as highest rating and T lowest) have dropped with many figuring in the bottom R and T slots.

Though the management at Satyam continues to justify the lay offs mentioning that they are all based on performance and behaviours.

As reported by TOI, sources say the firm is undertaking fresh background checks of all its employees to find "valid" reasons for firing. Besides, project leaders were asked to suggest at least two names from their teams who could be eased out of the firm. But it was the manner in which the news was broken that left many shaken.

"Despite having an impeccable work record I was shown the door. And to do this I was given just two hours," says a senior software engineer.

Another employee of three years with a "S" rating under his belt had to quit under similar circumstances. The techie was first asked to take an assessment test within 30 minutes. He was then told his performance was poor and that he had to leave. "Why would the company insist on a test that my managers in the past had described as only a formality," he asked. His demand to declare the test result went unheeded, he added.

A senior associate who was laid off last week said the pink slip came as a shocker. With six years work experience in known IT firms, he was handling a project in Satyam, two phases of which were already over with his work spilling over to late evenings. One such evening last week he was summoned by HR officials who asked him to meet them
the next day. "I was told, either you leave or we terminateyour service," he says, adding that the reason cited for his removal was his failure in filling the appraisal form on time.

S V Krishnan, Global head of HR, Satyam Computer Services, said, "As part of our appraisal process we identify around 5 to 10 per cent of our associates in the Performance Improvement category and put them through a structured Performance Improvement Program. Our experience reflects that about half of this group exits the system either voluntarily or involuntarily, while the others make credible progress internally. We have concluded our appraisal process a few weeks back, and believe we are witnessing similar trends like in the past."

So where are those individuals who believed that the IT boom is here to stay, or those who believed that there will always be new technology and innovations so IT engineers will never loose the jobs or those who believed that Indian Companies never lay off anyone.
Let's hope that alternative jobs are available to the affected employees of Satyam Lay off.

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