Layoffs List of all Companies - Must Read !!!

[nithyasubramanian]

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a slightly more than forecast 27,000 last week, government data showed on Thursday, while continued claims posted a record high again as the recession bit.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 640,000 in the week ended April 18 from a revised 613,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 635,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 610,000 the week before.

courtesy : Yahoo News.

[sajiv]

Salary freeze at Wipro

Wipro Ltd, India's third largest software exporter, has freezed salary increase for the current financial year and gave no commitment on campus hiring, saying the recruitment depended on how business shaped up.

"Outlook for wages and salaries... given the current scenario, we have no plans for increase in the course of the year", the Bangalore-headquartered, New York Stock Exchange-listed company's Executive Vice-President, Pratik Kumar said.

On campus hiring in the current fiscal, he said the company would visit the colleges (only) in January-March (unlike previous years when they selected students a year before they got the degree) but gave no firm numbers.

Mr. Kumar said campus hiring depends on how business shaped up, adding, it cannot predict a year before about the kind of numbers (hiring) they require. "It's difficult to put a number right now".

According to him, from this year onwards, Wipro would hire students only in their final year, and not a year in advance.

But Mr. Kumar said the company would honour the 7,000 campus offers made in the previous year.

[sajiv]

Wipro reports four percent rise in profits

Bangalore: Wipro Limited, ranked third among India's IT outsourcing companies, beat all expectations with a four percent rise in profit and consequently boosts its shares, to a six-month high.

This was disclosed by Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro here last evening.

Announcing the company's periodical results for the fourth quarter ending on March 31, he did forecast a strong and challenging year in the IT services sector.

As for Wipro's score card, Premji said that the revenue stood at 191.7 billion US dollars with a 31 per cent annual growth and it had added 110 clients during year.

"IT services business delivered a strong year on dollar revenue growth rates of 18.5 per cent adding more than 676 million to our top line, highest in the industry," said Premji.

He also mentioned that despite the turbulent times such as the global meltdown, the company's results have been robust.

"In these turbulent times, our results have been robust, resulting in Wipro Limited posting a 28 per cent growth in revenue in rupee terms and a 19 per cent growth in profits after tax," added Premji.

Further he said that Wipro has plans to invest in the telecom sector as well as the natural oil and gas segments in the domestic markets.

Wipro, promoted by Azim Premji who turned the family's ailing business of vegetable oil into an IT services major, also pointed out at the net profit in its fiscal fourth quarter rose to 9.1 billion rupees from 8.75 billion rupees reported a year ago.

Overall sales of the company also rose by 13 per cent. (ANI)

[nithyasubramanian]

Salary freeze at Wipro, hiring on hold   

Bangalore, April 22: Wipro Ltd, India's third largest software exporter, has freezed salary increase for the current financial year and gave no commitment on campus hiring, saying the recruitment depended on how business shaped up.

"Outlook for wages and salaries...given the current scenario, we have no plans for increase in the course of the year", the Bangalore-headquartered, New York Stock Exchange-listed company's Executive Vice-President, Pratik Kumar said.

On campus hiring in the current fiscal, he said the company would visit the colleges (only) in January-March (unlike previous years when they selected students a year before they got the degree) but gave no firm numbers.

Kumar said campus hiring depends on how business shaped up, adding, it cannot predict a year before about the kind of numbers (hiring) they require. "It's difficult to put a number right now".

According to him, from this year onwards, Wipro would hire students only in their final year, and not a year in advance.

But Kumar said the company would honour the 7,000 campus offers made in the previous year.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

BANGALORE: Despite a better than expected results for fiscal 2009, Wipro has slammed breaks on recruitment.

The company, which has hired tens of thousands employees in recent years, added only 2,243 employees, in fiscal 2009, to take its headcount to 97,810. Its headcount stood at 95,567 end of fiscal 2008.

In contrast, its rival Infosys added 13,663 employees to reach a headcount of 104,850 in fiscal 2009. TCS hired 32,354 to take its headcount to 143,761 in the same period.

The drop in Wipro's hiring mirrors the full blown effect of the global recession on Indian IT industry.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said, "Fiscal '09 saw the most severe meltdown the world has seen in this generation," while announcing fourth quarter results on Wednesday.

Wipro's flagship global IT business division raced from 28,502 employees in 2004 to 82,122 in 2008 adding an average of more than 13,000 employees per year. But fiscal 2009 saw an addition of only 1,898 employees to this division.
Its hiring forecast for fiscal 2010 is more subdued.

Pratik Kumar, head of HR, said, "Wipro may hire only 500 lateral hires or experienced employees in fiscal 2010 in IT services." "The 7,000 offers made during campus recruitments in fiscal 2009 would be honoured on priority," he said.

"The next round of campus recruitment would be done between January-March 2010," he added, while refusing to make any estimate on the actual number of new graduates Wipro may hire this year.

Indian IT firms, which run a labour-intensive IT business, have typically hired in large numbers to meet the booming demand for outsourcing.

But as the ongoing recession has hit projects and margins, they have become cautious on hiring and are looking for ways to make their business less labour intensive.

courtesy : Express Buzz.

[rajoe]

Employees have 3 months to improve skills: TCS

One of the leading IT firm in India Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has raised the performance bar for its 1,43,000 employees. Now those who are under the scanner will be given only three months to improve their skills.

"We have reduced the time period for improving the skills. Earlier, if an employee would show even a small improvement, we would give extension of a few more months. Henceforth, that will not be done," said Ajoy Mukherjee, vice-president and head, Global Human Resources.

The country also said that it will consider an employee's performance for the past three years so as to maintain stability. Though the company added about 22,000 trainees in fiscal year 2009, it had managed to reduce its employee cost by Rs 121 crore.

source:thatstamil

[Prashanth]

In view of the global economic meltdown coupled with mounting financial losses, Naresh Goyal-run domestic private air-carrier, Jet Airways, has slashed salaries by up to 25% for all its employees drawing a gross salary of above Rs 75,000 per month.

"Huge financial losses have forced the airline to slash salaries by up to 25% to all its employees drawing a gross salary of above Rs 75,000 per month," an industry source said.

A Jet Airways spokesperson confirmed the pay cuts but said that the move was only temporary and once the situation improved, it would do a revision.

The salary cuts range from 5 to 25 per cent and include the top management. In addition, other perks like car facilities and car maintenance allowances have also been withdrawn from May onwards, the source said.

While the top management faces a 25% pay cut, those drawing a salary of Rs five lakh and above would have to take a 20%, the source said.

Salaries of employees in the Rs two-five lakh bracket have been cut by 10%, whereas those employees getting Rs 75,000-2 lakh have to take a five per cent cut.


Source: TOI

[sajiv]

TCS to move staff abroad back to India

Mumbai: As part of cost-cutting measures, India's largest outsourcing firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said that it will relocate staff abroad into India.

"The company follows an onsite-offshore model. We will focus to do more work in India because it helps in saving cost and efficiency," TCS Chief Operating Officer N Chandrasekaran said.

However, the company would continue to do work onshore and relocation did not mean that it was winding up its operations abroad.

The company, which tried out its relocation in January-March this year, gained significantly in the last quarter of 2008-09.

In Q4, the company brought back its US staff to India resulting in a cost saving of Rs 121 crore. The company did not give any figures on how many staff were brought back.

The relocation of staff could be in thousands, he said.

[sajiv]

IT sector may layoff over 1 lakh by Sept

New Delhi: The Indian IT services sector may see up to five per cent layoffs -- amounting to more than one lakh job cuts -- over the next six months as companies focus more on cost-cutting due to persisting weakness in global demand, experts say.

Companies may reduce workforce in this fiscal, mostly based on stringent performance criteria, experts added.

"We expect the knowledge industry (IT) to see 3-5 per cent non-voluntary exits in the first two quarters of the financial year mainly in senior and middle levels," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Senior Director (Management Consultancy Services) P Thiruvengadam said.

Given the fact that more than 22 lakh people work in the IT industry, five per cent non-voluntary exits would mean more than one lakh employees being shown the door by September.

Nasscom estimates more than 22 lakh people were working in the Indian IT-BPO sector in FY2009 (till February), while indirect job creation is estimated at about eight million.

International Management Institute (IMI) Director C S Venkata Ratnam said, "The IT sector is better off but it may see up to 4-5 per cent job losses in the first two quarters of this fiscal."

[Prashanth]

US auto giant General Motors announced on Monday it would restructure 27 billion dollars in debt and phase out the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010.

The company also said it would reduce its work force by 7,000 to 8,000 more than previously announced.


Source: indiatimes

[VelMurugan]

IT may see 1 lakh job cuts by Sept

The Indian IT services sector may see up to five per cent layoffs -- amounting to more than one lakh job cuts -- over the next six months as companies focus more on cost-cutting due to persisting weakness in global demand, experts say.

Companies may reduce workforce in this fiscal, mostly based on stringent performance criteria, experts added.

"We expect the knowledge industry (IT) to see 3-5 per cent non-voluntary exits in the first two quarters of the financial year mainly in senior and middle levels," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Senior Director (Management Consultancy Services) P Thiruvengadam said.

Given the fact that more than 22 lakh people work in the IT industry, five per cent non-voluntary exits would mean more than one lakh employees being shown the door by September.

Nasscom estimates more than 22 lakh people were working in the Indian IT-BPO sector in FY2009 (till February), while indirect job creation is estimated at about eight million.

International Management Institute (IMI) Director C S Venkata Ratnam said, "The IT sector is better off but it may see up to 4-5 per cent job losses in the first two quarters of this fiscal."

The global financial turmoil has also hit the country's other export-related sectors including textiles and some unorganised industries like auto ancillaries, Venkata Ratnam said.

Besides, IT services (including engineering services, R&D, software products) exports, BPO exports and the domestic IT industry provide direct employment to 9,47,000, 7,90,000 and 5,00,000 people, respectively, Nasscom says.

The next 5-6 months would be critical for companies in deciding on job cuts. At present, layoffs are very few and more companies have frozen hiring to tackle the economic slowdown, Thiruvengadam said.

Last week, third-largest software exporter Wipro said it would freeze salary hikes and is uncertain about campus recruitment.

Further, as per government data, over one lakh people lost jobs in the export sector due to the global downturn.

Asked about what strategy they are advising, experts said adopting a wait-and-watch policy and a mature outlook would be the best policy. "If professionals aim towards multi-skilling and put in extra efforts to dabble in other areas of work as well, they stand a chance of becoming indispensable to their companies," Thiruvengadam said.

Source : indiatimes

[VelMurugan]

Layoffs at Satyam last option: TechM

The new owner of Satyam Computer, Tech Mahindra, has said it has adequate working capital to meet the expenses of the company it is acquiring, and laying off Satyam's employees will the last option only.

"We have the requisite capital to meet the expenses including salaries. The cash flow will be maintained," Tech Mahindra Director and President of the IT sector, (Mahindra Group) Ulhas Yargop said.

Tech Mahindra Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Vineet Nayyar said after taking over Satyam, it will go into the entire gamut of the company and may decide upon retrenchment of employees, which would be the last option.

"At this stage, I can't tell it. But to make the company viable we may take some decisions and this will be last option," Nayyar said.

However, he said they would look for more and more customers. Reacting to a query on the status-quo of liabilities of the Raju family, if any, Nayyar said "As far as we are concerned we are not aware of what that liability is."

"The forensic and investigative authorities are looking into the inflow and outflow of cash. We don't know anything. As and when that happens the law will deal with it," he said.

Answering to another query over job offers made to freshers to be hired by Satyam, Nayyar said "The fact is that it is the first time I am hearing about it. We will certainly look into that once the whole process is over. It's too early to say anything on this."

Once nominees of Tech Mahindra are appointed to the Board upon the closing of the initial allotment of shares to Tech Mahindra, they will focus at strengthening corporate governance in the company apart from meeting customers and Satyamites at major locations, worldwide, Nayyar said.

"We would like to reassure stakeholders that priority focus is being given to retaining critical customer-facing resources, so that the customer experience continues undisturbed.

"This is also a new beginning for Satyam and TechMahindra. Both companies will now have access to enhanced talent and scale to compete in the global market," Nayyar said.

Tech Mahindra's investment in Satyam marks an expansion of the firm's interests in other vertical markets, including financial services, manufacturing and healthcare, among others, he said.

Earlier, government appointed Satyam-Board Chairman Kiran Karnik said the Board has given to Tech Mahindra, a list of 100 key employees to be retained.

Chairman of Tech Mahindra, Anand Mahindra said he along with his colleagues toured Satyam's Hyderabad campus and addressed associates globally through a live telecast and also interacted with leaders, adding "It was a unique opportunity and it has provided great amount of relief and enthusiasm."

Source : indiatimes

[Kalyan]

Russia to axe about 36,000 officers in 2009

Around 36,000 officers will be sacked this year as Russia tries to turn its military into a smaller but more combat-ready force, Russian media quoted a senior general as saying on Tuesday.

"We believe that in the final account no more than 36,000 or 37,000 servicemen will be fired (in 2009), maybe more, maybe less," local news agencies quoted Russian Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov as telling reporters.

The Defence Ministry has announced plans of cutting the armed forces from around 1.13 million to 1 million in 2012 and reduce officer numbers by more than half to 150,000 in a bid to transform the largely demoralised Soviet-era structures.

Pankov's remarks signalled the ministry will stick to its plans despite looming unemployment. About 8.7 million Russians, or over 10 percent of workforce, are already unemployed, on forced holidays or unpaid leave, the Economy Ministry has said.

Critics of the military reform launched by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov say the hasty reduction of the armed forces means tens of thousands of sacked military professionals may be forced to seek their fortunes in the criminal world.

"We have no inclination to leave in the ranks of the armed forces those officers who do not meet the requirements of their jobs and do not correspond to the noble title of officer," Pankov said.

"A significant number of senior officers has been found to be incompetent and will be fired." Pankov said those to be fired included 50 generals who had failed to pass appraisals.

The military reform has angered many officers. Several generals opposing the reform have been fired or resigned.

In the most recent case, Valentin Korabelnikov, the chief of Russia's powerful GRU military intelligence, was sacked last week following media reports on his strong opposition to plans to disband or reorder special forces units under GRU command.


courtesy : economic times

[sajiv]

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

Detroit: General Motors said it will cut 21,000 US factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take more than half its stock in exchange for half of GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 per cent of the company. The struggling automaker said it will offer 225 shares of common stock for every $1,000 in notes held by bondholders as part of a debt-for-equity swap that aims to retire most of GM's $27 billion in unsecured debt.

The announcements came in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GM is living on $15.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to restructure and get more government money. If the restructuring doesn't satisfy the government, the company could go into bankruptcy protection. GM said it will ask the government to take more than 50 per cent of its common stock in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June 1.

The swap would cancel about $10 billion in government debt. In addition, GM is offering the United Auto Workers stock for at least 50 percent of the $20 billion the company must pay into a union run trust that will take over retiree health care expenses starting next year.

[sajiv]

General Motors To Cut 26,900 Jobs In US And Canada

Leading auto major, General Motors (GM) has decided to slash 21,000 jobs in US and 5,900 in Canada by next year. The troubled company has also announced to shut down six more US units, bringing down the plants to 34 by 2010. The auto company also planned to reduce dealership by 42 percent from 6,246 to 3,605. In order to stay out of the bankruptcy, General Motors has borrowed $15.4 billion since December 2008.

Apart from cutting jobs, GM has also decided to phase out its famous Pontiac brand. The company said that it might also sell or phase out said its Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands by next year. According to a statement from GM, the company will require an additional fund of $11.6 billion from the  government to keep itself alive in the market.

The new job cuts will put GM's work force from 61,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2010, a reduction of 34 percent. The Canadian subsidiary of GM has also announced to reduce 57 percent work force by 2014. GM (Canada) will also shut down about 310 dealerships by the end of 2010. The recent decision has been taken to make GM eligible for long-term loans from the US and Canadian governments.

[VelMurugan]

Nokia to cut 400 more jobs

Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday it would reduce investment in creating new services, helping it to cut further 450 jobs.

Nokia, which made its first ever quarterly pretax loss in January-March, is cutting annual costs at its key handset unit alone by more than 700 million euros ($911 million) to counter plunging demand.

To cope with slowing phone demand Nokia is building a new business from mobile Internet services -- like games or maps -- but has scaled back investment plans due to the slowdown.

Nokia said it will "focus investments on fewer initiatives and increase the use of common enablers across certain services." "We are moving into Ovi, into a platform strategy," Tero Ojanpera, head of the entertainment and communities operations at Nokia said.

Nokia said the 450 job cuts would also involve internal IT unit and industry collaboration activities. It has so far slashed 3,000 jobs across the organisation. The overall mobile phone market is expected to shrink 10 per cent this year, as consumers rein in spending and handset sellers try to clear out unsold phones.

Source : indiatimes

[VelMurugan]

Adobe freezes pay, cuts variable

Adobe Inc, the world's biggest maker of graphic-design software, will freeze pay this year as the recession crimps sales, said Chief Financial Officer Mark Garrett.

"Clearly, we aren't going to have salary increases," he said in an interview. "The bonus plans and variable compensation plans will pay out less. We have set ourselves up for what we think we need to do -- from a costs perspective -- for the rest of this year."

Adobe also has cut about 8 per cent of its workforce, curbed travel and reduced its use of contractors. While US demand is now steady, overseas sales may still be dropping, Garrett said. That revenue accounted for almost 60 per cent of Adobe's total last year.

"In the US, things have stabilised, but certainly not improved," Garrett said. "I'm a little cautious still about Europe and Asia because these things tend to spread from here."

Adobe's US sales hit bottom in February and the first two weeks of March, Garrett said. The company, which gets weekly reports from its global distribution channels, hasn't seen any rebound yet, he said.

Creative suite
In March, the company predicted that sales in the current quarter would drop as low as $675 million, from $886.9 million last year.

Adobe said then that the recession had eroded demand for new versions of its Acrobat software and Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop and Illustrator. Adobe released a Creative Suite upgrade in September, just as the crisis on Wall Street and tightening credit forced customers to curb spending.

About 58 per cent of Adobe's revenue comes from Creative Suite. The latest version, which more tightly integrates Adobe's flash video software, was the biggest product-development effort in the company's history.

When preparing quarterly forecasts, Adobe considers gross domestic product, unemployment rates and global spending on marketing, Garrett said.

"I'm no economist, but I think this will be a bit longer of a recovery," he said. "I hope things will start to improve toward the back half of the year.

Technology spending in developed economies will decline 12 per cent this year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc said last month. Businesses will probably buy more software than hardware products, Goldman Sachs said.

Source : Indiatimes

[dhilipkumar]

Nokia lays off more workers, opens up to third-party apps

Nokia Corp. announced today that it will lay off another 450 employees in the wake of a 27% sales decline in this year's first quarter compared to the same period a year ago.The Finland-based mobile phone maker, looking for ways to boost its sales while cutting internal costs, also said that it plans to open up the programming interfaces for some of its communications services in an attempt to take better advantage of third-party software developers.

The latest job cuts are related to the changes at the Nokia Services unit and also affect workers in Nokia's IT department and other corporate operations. They come on the heels of Nokia's first-quarter earnings report, which showed that the company sold 93.2 million phones in Q1 — a steep drop from the 113.1 million devices it sold during last year's fourth quarter.Nokia has made a series of cutbacks as it grapples with falling sales fueled by the economic recession. The company announced in February that 320 employees would be laid off, then it said last month that it planned to cut another 1,700 workers.

The layoffs began with a 600-worker reduction announced last November, when Nokia predicted that worldwide handset sales would decline this year because of the economic downturn. Nokia's goal in making the various cuts is to lower its annual costs by €700 million ($910 million U.S.) by next year.The interface changes announced today are designed to enable third-party developers do more with the vendor's services and devices, according to Nokia.For example, Nokia will open up the API for its Ovi Share service, said Leslie Nakajima, a spokeswoman at its Nokia Services unit. Ovi Share lets users share content via PCs and mobile phones; an upcoming version of its API will let third-party developers add more ways to share photos and videos, Nakajima said.

Apple Inc.'s success with the iPhone application market, via its App Store, can be attributed to the fact that it opened up the technology to third parties, said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at CCS Insight. And particularly in these tough economic times, it's probably prudent for phone makers and network operators to work more closely with external developers, he said.The timing of the announcement about the API plans was no coincidence: the Nokia Developer Summit 2009 opened today in Monaco. According to Nakajima, third parties will also get a chance to try out a beta software developer's kit for the N97, an upcoming upgrade of Nokia's flagship smartphone. The SDK includes support for the phone's keyboard and home-screen widgets, she said.

In addition, the new plan aims to reduce duplication in Nokia's offerings. For example, she said there's no need for its different services to have their own payment systems, as they now do.

Also, mobile games will be available via a new online storefront called Ovi Store that Nokia plans to launch in May, in addition to their existing channels, the company said.

computerworld

[dwarakesh]

Global search engine player Yahoo, which recently announced a five per cent lay-off globally, is learnt to have asked around 60 emplo
yees from its Bangalore-based R&D centre to quit the company.

The California-based company is also planning to hire 130 professionals in India in areas like product engineering.

A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment. Sources said the recent announcement of Yahoo's global layoff, will impact less than 4 per cent of Yahoo India R&D's workforce, which at present is 1,500.

A significant number of the employees are being laid off on performance grounds, and some of them on account of reorganisation, leading to their becoming functionless. This move would allow the company to focus on strategic priorities and provide flexibility for targeted hiring in key business areas, they said.

Yahoo would continue to hire in business-critical areas in India. The company currently has over 130 openings, sources added.

This is the second lay off Yahoo India will be undertaking following global announcements. In December 2008, the company had served notices to three per cent of its India workforce due to the ongoing slowdown.

source: indiatimes

[sajiv]

GM dealers urge "proper" treatment in consolidation

U.S. dealer representatives urged General Motors Corp on Tuesday to offer "proper compensation" in its plan to eliminate more than 40 percent of its U.S. dealers in less than two years.

The struggling automaker said on Monday it would reduce its 6,246 U.S. dealerships by 42 percent by the end of 2010, as part of a sweeping restructuring process the U.S. government has said the company must undergo to continue to receive taxpayer-funded support.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, which represents about 20,000 new car dealers in the United States, said GM had provided limited information on the consolidation plan, adding another layer of uncertainty to dealers already struggling to survive frozen credit and a collapse in sales.

"It is imperative that GM treat all of the dealers fairly and equitably and that they be properly compensated," said NADA Chairman John McEleney said in a statement.

"After all, it's not out of any fault of their own that these dealers are being forced to close their businesses," he said.

GM spent more than $1 billion when it closed its Oldsmobile division and shut some 2,800 dealerships. But with the company teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and kept afloat with $15.4 billion of emergency government loans, analysts expect that kind of payout is unlikely this time.

"There's a lot that we don't know," McEleney said. "But we do know that this will accelerate GM's loss of revenue and market share."

The dealer group said closing 2,641 dealerships would cost GM an estimated $35 billion in lost revenue.

The consolidation also means about 137,330 dealership employees will lose their jobs, and state and local governments will lose an estimated $1.7 billion in sales tax revenue, the group said.

GM's U.S. sales tumbled 49 percent in the first three months of the year, underperforming the overall market's 38 percent drop.

GM's accelerated dealer consolidation plan came after the automaker was told by the Obama administration in late March it had until June 1 to dig deeper and move faster for continued federal support.

GM also plans to phase out the Pontiac brand by the end of next year and expects to stop production of its Saturn models by the end of 2009.

"We understand the realities of current market conditions. But nevertheless, we feel a strong sense of disappointment that GM has, for whatever reason, decided to accelerate dealer consolidation in such a drastic way," McEleney said.

[VelMurugan]

Yahoo India lays off 60

Global search engine player Yahoo, which recently announced a five per cent lay-off globally, is learnt to have asked around 60 employees from its Bangalore-based R&D centre to quit the company.

The California-based company is also planning to hire 130 professionals in India in areas like product engineering.

A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment. Sources said the recent announcement of Yahoo's global layoff, will impact less than 4 per cent of Yahoo India R&D's workforce, which at present is 1,500.

A significant number of the employees are being laid off on performance grounds, and some of them on account of reorganisation, leading to their becoming functionless. This move would allow the company to focus on strategic priorities and provide flexibility for targeted hiring in key business areas, they said.

Yahoo would continue to hire in business-critical areas in India. The company currently has over 130 openings, sources added.

This is the second lay off Yahoo India will be undertaking following global announcements. In December 2008, the company had served notices to three per cent of its India workforce due to the ongoing slowdown

Source : indiatimes

[sajiv]

Cessna Announces 2,300 Layoffs

WICHITA, Kan. (April 29) - Wichita-based Cessna Aircraft Co. is laying off 2,300 workers and closing its Oregon plant as it tries to restructure amid declining plane orders.

Cessna said Wednesday it had started laying off 1,600 workers throughout the company. An additional 700 salaried workers will lose their jobs in mid-June.
Of the job cuts that started Wednesday, 1,300 will be in Wichita and 121 will be in Independence.

Most of the 700 jobs that will be cut this summer will also be in Wichita.
Cessna also is closing its plant in Bend, Ore., and moving production of the Corvalis single engine planes from there to its Independence facility. Cessna bought the Oregon plant years ago.

Cessna also is discontinuing its Columbus business jets built in Wichita.

[dhilipkumar]

Yahoo! India lays off 60; to hire 130

Global search engine player Yahoo!, which recently announced a five per cent lay-off globally, is learnt to have asked around 60 employees from its Bangalore-based R&D centre to quit the company.

The California-based company is also planning to hire 130 professionals in India in areas like product engineering.

A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment. Sources said the recent announcement of Yahoo!'s global layoff, will impact less than 4 per cent of Yahoo! India R&D's workforce, which at present is 1,500. A significant number of the employees are being laid off on performance grounds, and some of them on account of reorganisation, leading to their becoming functionless. This move would allow the company to focus on strategic priorities and provide flexibility for targeted hiring in key business areas, they said.

Yahoo! would continue to hire in business-critical areas, in India. The company currently has over 130 openings, sources added.

This is the second lay-off Yahoo! India will be undertaking following global announcements. In December 2008, the company had served notices to three per cent of its India workforce due to the ongoing slowdown.

indiatimes

[VelMurugan]

Jet Airways lays off 110 employees

India's leading private carrier Jet Airways handed over pink slips to 110 employees on the eve of May Day, the company said Friday.

'Jet Airways undertakes additional measures to streamline costs to improve the financial health of the company under the challenging economic environment. The airline has issued notices of termination to identified employees on contract, who have superannuated,' a company spokesperson said.

'The termination is in accordance with the law and their (employees') service conditions,' he added.

Of these employees, 50 were on contract basis, while the remaining 60 were probationary cabin-crew.

Last year, the airline had given termination notice to around 19,00 employees, but revoked the decision after the government's intervention and workers' protest.

Last week, Jet had cut the salaries of its employees drawing a gross monthly salary of over Rs.75,000 by up to 25 percent.

The airline faces losses as its revenue has been falling since early last year.

Source : yahoo

[Kalyan]

Microsoft proceeds with layoff plans

Microsoft has sent layoff notices to more than 3,000 workers, almost completing plans announced in January to fire some 5,000 workers, the company said Tuesday.

Microsoft had already cut 1,400 positions when it made the announcement of the first mass layoffs in its history. In an email to workers Tuesday, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer indicated that further job cuts could be needed.

'As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations,' Ballmer said in the memo.

While most of the original firings were in the US, the latest round was split evenly between the US and the company's international branches. Microsoft said it plans to create between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs between now and the middle of next year, many of which could be filled by the laid off workers.


source : yahoo

[VelMurugan]

Microsoft's layoff email to employees

Microsoft Corp has sent layoff notices to more than 3,000 employees, almost completing plans announced in January to fire some 5,000 workers, the company said on Tuesday.

In January, against the backdrop of falling computer sales and US recession, Microsoft announced a plan to cut 5,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its 96,000 staff, over 18 months, in an attempt to save $1.5 billion a year.

And in an email sent to its employees on Tuesday, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer left the door open to even more cuts.

Here's the complete text of the email sent by CEO Steve Ballmer to employees.


From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
To: Microsoft - All Employees
Subject: Update: Realigning Resources and Reducing Costs

In January, in response to the global economic downturn, I announced our plan to adjust the company's cost structure through spending reductions and job eliminations. Today, we are implementing the second phase of this plan.

This is difficult news to share. Because our success at Microsoft has always been the direct result of the talent, hard work, and commitment of our people, eliminating positions is hard.

Today's action includes positions in the United States and in a number of countries around the world. In the US, affected employees will be notified directly by their managers today. In other countries, local leadership teams will provide more specific information about the impact to their organizations.

With this announcement, we are mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations by June 2010. We are moving quickly to reach this target in response to consistent feedback from our people and business groups that it's important to make decisions and reduce uncertainty for employees as quickly as possible, and so that organizations can concentrate their efforts and resources on strategic objectives.

As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations.

For those of you directly affected by today's announcement, I want to thank you for your contribution to Microsoft and assure you that we will continue to provide support as we did during the previous job eliminations.

And for everyone across the company, I want to reemphasize how much I appreciate the way you have pulled together to help the company respond to this difficult economic environment. There's no doubt that these are very challenging times. But together, we are making the right choices to ensure that we will continue to deliver great products and position ourselves for strong future growth and profitability.

Thank you for your continued hard work, commitment, and focus.

Steve

Source : indiatimes

[Prashanth]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News has announced its decision to sack nearly 90 jobs by 2010.

The Mirror online reported that the bulk of the cuts are to take place in the news gathering team that will help save the group around 155 million pounds.

The BBC also plans to plough over 70 million pounds into areas such as foreign coverage and on-demand news.

'The BBC is working hard to minimise compulsory redundancies. It is a tough, but necessary process,' said a channel spokesperson Wednesday.


Source: yahoo

[Kalyan]

Layoffs might ease, but firms in no mood to hire

Cos will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods & a recovery is firmly rooted.

Employers are letting up a bit on the mass layoffs they resorted to earlier this year to cope with the recession, but the unemployment rate is climbing because many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic and financial uncertainties.

The Labor Department on Friday is slated to release a report expected to show that a net total of 620,000 jobs were lost in April. If analysts are correct, the figure - while still big - would be an improvement from March's 663,000 job losses and mark the fewest reductions since November.

The deepest job cuts of the recession, which started in December 2007 and is now the longest since World War II, came in January: 741,000 jobs vanished then, the most since the fall of 1949.

"I think the worst has passed in terms of losses," said John Silvia, economist at Wachovia. "But the jobs situation will remain tough."

With few places for the out-of-work to land, the unemployment rate is expected to jump to 8.9 percent, from 8.5 percent in March. If that happens, it would mark the highest jobless rate since the fall of 1983, when the country was recovering from a severe recession that drove unemployment past 10 percent.


As the recession eats into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive the storm. Those including holding down workers' hours, and freezing or cutting pay.

Looking ahead, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most - if not all - of this year. However, they are hoping the reductions won't be as deep.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week gave his most optimistic prediction yet about the end of the recession, saying he expects the economy to start growing again this year - although the comeback could be weak and more jobs will disappear even after a recovery takes hold.

Companies will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods and a recovery is firmly rooted.

Against that backdrop, many economists predict the unemployment rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year. Bernanke stopped short of that figure, saying it will be somewhere in the 9 percent range. Regardless, both private economists and Bernanke agree the unemployment rate will keep climbing into next year.

The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal - meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate - until 2013.

More than 5 million jobs have vanished in the recession, and Bernanke predicted "further sizable job losses" in the coming months.

Fallout from housing, credit and financial crises - the worst since the 1930s - has hurt America's workers and companies, and the pain will continue. The jobs market traditionally doesn't rebound until well after an economic recovery starts.


courtesy : economics time

[Kalyan]

More companies recently announced job cuts. General Motors Corp. laid out a restructuring plan that includes cutting 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year. Microsoft Corp. said it was starting thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced in earlier this year and left the door open to even more layoffs.

However, glimmers of hope have emerged that the recession may be losing its grip on the country.

The Labor Department on Thursday said the number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked. Still, the number of unemployed workers drawing benefits climbed to a new record - 6.35 million.

Other reports showed sales at many retailers fared better in April, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. leading the way.

In the U.S., the economy shrank at faster than a 6 percent annual rate late last year and early this year, the worst six-month performance since the late 1950s. Analysts think it is still shrinking now - but probably at about half that pace. Many predict the economy could start growing in the third or fourth quarter as tax cuts and government spending on big public works projects included in President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package make their way through the economy.

Information for the monthly employment report is collected around the middle of the month. A copy of the report is given to the White House's Council of Economic Advisers on Thursday afternoon. Bernanke gets employment information Thursday night.


source : economic times

[VelMurugan]

Corus may shut Teesside mill, more than 3000 jobs at risk

Tata-owned steel maker Corus announced Friday that the company has started consultations that may force it to 'mothball' its Products plant in North East England after a consortium of 4 international slab buyers suddenly cancelled a 10 year contract to buy almost 78% of Teesside's output. "I am extremely disappointed that the consortium members have seen fit to take this irresponsible action," said Corus CEO Kirby Adams in a statement. "Their unilateral termination of a legally binding 10-year contract could bring to an end a fine heritage of steelmaking at Teesside. We regret the distress their action will cause TCP's dedicated employees, who have worked steadfastly in the interests of the consortium." The closure of Teesside would put about 2000 direct jobs and 1000 other jobs at risk, according to the UK government estimates.

Corus had an outline agreement with a consortium headed by Mantova-based Marcegaglia, one of the members of the consortium, to sell the Teesside plant for an estimated $480m. The future of that deal has been under a cloud in recent weeks, though the company said it still has an MoU in place. The Corus management was taken by surprise at the move by its primary buyer, and it is unlikely that after withdrawing from the contract the same buyers would be interested in buying an 80% stake in Teesside.

"This development has become unavoidable ... and the company has today begun discussions with employees and their representatives about what can be done to mitigate the impact of mothballing the plant on the 1,920 TCP employees and what future action may be needed," Corus said in a statement. Corus is Europe's second largest steelmaker and has already announced around 3500 job cuts worldwide in January, and has been getting rid of non-core activities. The steelmaker, which the Tatas acquired in a closely run race at the height of the steel boom has been struggling to keep pace with the global downturn. Since its takeover by the Tatas, Corus has delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

Corus was also earlier in negotiations with the UK government to allow it to retain its workers on a government supported system, as it has done in Netherlands where its other major operations are.

Corus' management has committed to using all legal means to ensure that its main buyers fulfill their contractual obligations. Corus had signed a 10 year contract in 2004 with Marcegaglia SpA, Dongkuk Steel Mills Co Ltd, Duferco Participations Holding Ltd1 and Alvory SA2, agreed to buy their share of TCP's output at cash cost.

Lord Peter Mandelsen, Business Secretary, said on SkyNews that the government will support Corus in fighting this move, and that if companies have unilaterally withdrawn from contracts Corus must challenge that "up hill and down dale".

Up hill and down dale, locals at Redcar, where the plant is located, have been living in uncertainty for a while –Teesside is an intrinsic part of the UK's steel story, and remains a key employer in the seaside town on the north east coast
of England. Local unions have put the number of jobs dependent on the plant at over 10,000.

[dwarakesh]

Microsoft has laid off 1 per cent of its India workforce on May 5 as part of the global software maker's second wave of layoffs. Microsoft India has sent notices to its employees in Bangalore and Hyderabad that it would be eliminating their jobs, informed sources said.

It is not clear which groups of the Indian operations have been affected by the cuts which are learnt to have been carried out across diverse functions. However, a company source said that a sizeable number of Microsoft's sales and support personnel in Hyderabad and a few in Bangalore were among those affected. The Response Windows team has also been dismantled completely, the source claimed.

The company's official spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the developments.

The job cuts are part of Microsoft's global initiative announced in January that it would reduce 5,000 jobs worldwide by June 2010. At that point of time, the company had laid off 1,350-1,400 people largely in the US.

In the second round of layoffs effected on May 5, another 3,000 jobs were eliminated.

With the second wave of layoff notifications, Microsoft has cut 4,500 jobs and is close to its 5,000 layoff target.

On whether more layoffs would be announced in the India operations, which have over 5,500 people on its rolls, sources said that such a possibility could arise under a new round of job cuts, though no hint or official announcement to the effect has come from CEO Steve Ballmer.

While announcing the second round of job cuts, Ballmer had said in a memo last week that the company would closely monitor the impact of the economic slowdown and take necessary action on its cost structure, including taking a decision on undertaking additional job eliminations "as required".

The company is known to be going ahead with plans to hire 2,000-3,000 workers worldwide this year in some of its growing areas of focus, including online services business and the enterprise server group.

source: Businessstandard

[sajiv]

Microsoft lays off 1% of India staff

Microsoft has laid off 1 per cent of its India workforce on May 5 as part of the global software maker's second wave of layoffs. Microsoft India has sent notices to its employees in Bangalore and Hyderabad that it would be eliminating their jobs, informed sources said.

It is not clear which groups of the Indian operations have been affected by the cuts which are learnt to have been carried out across diverse functions.

However, a company source said that a sizeable number of Microsoft's sales and support personnel in Hyderabad and a few in Bangalore were among those affected. The Response Windows team has also been dismantled completely, the source claimed.

The company's official spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the developments.

The job cuts are part of Microsoft's global initiative announced in January that it would reduce 5,000 jobs worldwide by June 2010. At that point of time, the company had laid off 1,350-1,400 people largely in the US.

In the second round of layoffs effected on May 5, another 3,000 jobs were eliminated.

With the second wave of layoff notifications, Microsoft has cut 4,500 jobs and is close to its 5,000 layoff target.

On whether more layoffs would be announced in the India operations, which have over 5,500 people on its rolls, sources said that such a possibility could arise under a new round of job cuts, though no hint or official announcement to the effect has come from CEO Steve Ballmer.

While announcing the second round of job cuts, Ballmer had said in a memo last week that the company would closely monitor the impact of the economic slowdown and take necessary action on its cost structure, including taking a decision on undertaking additional job eliminations "as required".

The company is known to be going ahead with plans to hire 2,000-3,000 workers worldwide this year in some of its growing areas of focus, including online services business and the enterprise server group.

[VelMurugan]

Microsoft to fire 55 India employees

Software giant Microsoft will lay off about 55 employees in India, which is one per cent of its Indian staff, as slowdown hits the sector, affecting business and profitability.

The announcement on this is part of the Redmond-based company's decision in January this year to cut 5,000 jobs globally amid the ongoing slowdown.

The company would lay off 55 employees from its 5,500 people-strong Indian operations in a bid to realign its business in the country, Microsoft India spokesperson said.

When asked for details, the spokesperson declined to comment saying, "We are currently working with the concerned employees to evaluate alternative positions internally and where applicable look at mutually favourable disengagement terms."

"Due to a global realignment of our business priorities, about one per cent of the net rolls across India are likely to be impacted," the company said in a statement.

In the second round of job-cuts effected on May 5, the software major announced it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.

"The company would continue to hire and create employment opportunities in line with the recovery and growth of the Indian economy and make strategic investments which are best suited to the current economic environment," the spokesperson said.

Source : indiatimes

[Sudhakar]

Its a good news Velmuruan,

Keep on updating it.

Hope we will have many such happening every moment. 

[sajiv]

Microsoft may lay off more: Ballmer

Mumbai:

Software giant Microsoft, which has announced laying off 5,000 employees including 55 in India, said it may look at more layoffs if the economic downturn dramatically worsens again.

"Presuming the economy hopefully stays as bad as it is and doesn't get dramatically worse, we will finish our plan, but if it gets dramatically worse again, we will look at things again," Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer, said in Mumbai.

The Redmond-based company had in January announced that it would axe 5,000 jobs globally amid the ongoing slowdown.

It announced slashing one per cent of its 5,500-strong Indian workforce, amounting to 55 layoffs, in a bid to realign its business in the country.

It added that it would continue to hire and create employment opportunities in line with the recovery and growth of the Indian economy.

"We had said that we would lay-off about 5,000 people.

We are still filling other jobs. We are mostly through that process globally and there is still some work to do," Ballmer said.

"There are areas where we are continuing to add people. As I said, these are global additions, so it is a little hard to separate our work globally from our work in India," he added.

Ballmer said Microsoft is the second largest foreign IT employer in India and that he doesn't see a change in that.

In the second round of job-cuts effected on May 5, the software major announced it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.

[Sudhakar]

Good Good.

That was a real good news.

Keep on updated it Acumen. 

[Kalyan]

while compare to the last year, this sensex says that recession increased lot in US...

but, in our country this reflected only in IT industries, if the company having the step up stability and not dependent only the US,

it's in safer stage, else all the concerns are locked because of the news the announced by Mr.Obama.


already most of the bpo industries in INDIA are closed....

[Kalyan]

US shouldn't kill hi-tech talent


Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer provided a window into his family's immigrant past to make a case for America keeping its doors wide open to allow the best and brightest to work in the land of opportunity.

The son of a Swiss immigrant father and a Jewish-American mother, the 53-year-old evoked the example of his parents as he spoke of his unease with the protectionist measures that are being planned by the new Obama administration.

"My father was an immigrant right after World War II when he went to work for the US Army as an interpreter in the Nuremberg war crimes trial. And then he met Americans in the army who sponsored him to migrate to the US in 1949," Mr Ballmer said in an interview to ET on Tuesday.

"We are prepared to participate in broader immigration reform which allows us to bring hitech talent. My father, my mother's parents were all immigrants. It's a great thing for the US," he said in response to a question about the brouhaha over H1B visas.


American companies having overseas operations are worried about President Barack Obama's proposed taxes on income earned abroad, and India's top tech firms such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro are anxious about rising anti-offshoring sentiment in the US.

Ballmer said his initial reaction was that such tax proposals are not good for business and that his company would continue to hire skilled professionals in countries such as India and China if Microsoft is unable to employ them in the US.

Microsoft, which was criticised by US Senator Chuck Grassley for retaining and hiring more foreign workers even as it announced plans to lay off around 5,000 employees, is one of the biggest users for H1B work permits issued by the US to skilled migrants from countries such as India.

"We opened a development lab in Vancouver of Canada because we could not get visas for everybody, and the Canadians were willing to give visas," Ballmer said. "If the US government allows us, we will have those people to work for us in the US, but if the government does not allow us, we are prepared to have those people work elsewhere, whether it be here in India or in China."

Regarding President Obama's plans to tax overseas earnings of American companies to create more local jobs, Mr Ballmer said he would wait for more details. "I think the government have to be thoughtful because there are unintended consequences: will their actions create jobs in the US, or will they tend to drive even more jobs out of the US.


In general, business is saying this is not a good thing," he said. Ballmer, who had offered to buy Internet search rival Yahoo last year to compete with Google, said Microsoft is seeking to develop its own technology for search.

[Kalyan]

"People still speculate, but I have made it clear: they turned down our offer, it's fine and we will move on. The truth is in this economic condition I am glad they did not accept the offer of $33 (per share). They might be sad they did not accept an offer for $33, but we crossed the bridge and now we are exploring other opportunities," he said.

Despite enjoying a near-monopoly in the computer desktop market, Microsoft still lags behind Google and Yahoo in Internet search. And open source software Linux, which is available for free downloads, also continues to put pressure on the company.

"We have competition from this funny thing called Linux, which does not even require it to be successful. In a sense we have all the best and the worst of competition; we have a competitor that's going to keep competing whether it's successful or not because it does not require financial resources, it's keeping our prices down." Ballmer, however, added that Microsoft would be open to work with Yahoo and create a stronger offering for those currently spending on advertising with Google.

"We are not going to acquire them but are open to work together. We and Yahoo together will be stronger. Everybody who advertises on Google in the US and elsewhere would like to advertise on a combination of Yahoo and Microsoft," he added.







courtesy : economic times

[Kalyan]

About 30% Indian firms may cut jobs up to a fifth


About a third of India Inc may reduce its workforce by up to 20 per cent if the gloomy economic scenario persists during the year, a survey has said.

"There is a sizable number (of companies), around 30 per cent, which are planning to cut jobs by up to 20 per cent if the economic slowdown persists during the year ... (and) around 10 per cent of the employers are considering major job cuts...," the survey by PHDCCI said.

The survey is based on response of 200 companies. The firms may resort to job cuts in view of burgeoning inventories and sagging bottom lines, it said.

The survey, however, said that about 60 per cent of the corporates surveyed are not contemplating major retrenchments.

"There is no doubt that leading firms are undertaking internal restructuring of their organisations to maintain their margins and mitigate the impact of the ongoing economic crisis. But the impact on job cuts is limited," PHDCCI President Satish Bagrodia said.

To revive industry and prevent the lay offs from escalating further, the chamber said there is an impelling need to reinvigorate the economy by improving the investment climate. MORE PTI NKD MR 05122202 DELHI NNNN

"There is a need to augment public investment in infrastructure like roads, ports, air transport to revive the economy and ensure early completion of various components of the national highway development projects," Bagrodia said adding more of such projects should be commissioned.

Investment in social infrastructure like education and health should be considerably increased and education system should be reformed to reduce the gap between demand and supply of trained and technical manpower, PHDCCI said.

"The government has, over the last six months, announced tax incentives packages ... but these proposals are not sufficient to stimulate demand," it added.




courtesy : economic times

[Kalyan]

Layoffs at Capgemini continue


Consulting and outsourcing firm Capgemini has laid off nearly 100 employees at its Chennai centre. The pink slips were issued for
employees mostly in the middle management positions. This comes on the back of reports that said Capgemini sacked 600 employees in Hyderabad and Pune.

The company has nearly 20,000 people working in India. An employee said the layoff across centers was because of the overall economic slowdown, which was impacting the company's project flow and clients.

"While some clients have ramped down on the size of contracts, other projects, like the Lehman Brothers account closed after the company's collapse. Apart from the middle management, some employees on probation were also asked to leave," said the employee at one of the company's locations, who did not wish to be named.

When contacted, Capgemini India's chief people officer Cyprian D'Souza told ET through e-mail, "India is central to our global delivery model and we are in the process of mapping our existing skills with the business in hand and the business outlook. The economic condition is tough and no company is immune to its effects."

Mr D'Souza added that the industry was seeing an overhaul within all the affected verticals. "The process though tough, has to be undertaken to align our business with global economic realities, optimise operational efficiency, ensure financial health and enable future growth."

For the first quarter of 2009, Capgemini group posted consolidated revenues of Euro 2,205 million, up 0.9 % compared with the year-ago period.







courtesy : economic times

[Kalyan]

Microsoft may cut more jobs if economy worsens

To continue to hire and create jobs in line with recovery and growth of the Indian economy.

Global software giant Microsoft today said it might dismiss more employees if economic conditions worsen.

The company plans to dismiss 1 per cent of its 5,000 employees in India, part of a plan to shed around 5,000 jobs globally.

"We are mostly through that process globally. If the economy remains as bad as it is and does not dramatically worsen, we will finish our plans. But if it gets dramatically worse, which I guess is conceivable, we will work on things again," said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft.

However, he added, the company would continue to hire and create jobs in line with recovery and growth of the Indian economy. "We are still filling up other jobs. There are areas where we are still adding people," he said.

Ballmer was speaking at the launch of EduNxt, a virtual university, by Manipal Education, an institution for higher studies. The education institute is partnering with Microsoft, BSNL and netbook original equipment suppliers to provide education through the internet.

On the recent changes in tax laws proposed by US President Barack Obama, Ballmer said: "The US has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. There have been discussions of changes in the tax law in the US, but it is still (only) a proposal so far." He said the US government would like the country's firms to be competitive in hiring people, both outside and within the US.

He dismissed as "rumours" the reports that the company plans to acquire German software firm SAP. "That is just a market rumour. I have nothing to say of rumours of acquisitions, positively or negatively," he said. Microsoft had, for the first time, sold bonds to investors on Monday and raised $3.7 billion. This move sparked the speculation, as the Redmond-based firm has close to $25 billion in cash.

Manipal Education has invested Rs 30 crore in EduNxt so far. The institute's management expects this investment to go up by three times at maturity. EduNxt will be available for Sikkim Manipal University's 300,000 distance education students from July 2009.

Said Anand Sudarshan, CEO of Manipal Education: "EduNxt has the potential to change higher education in India. It has the power to scale and provide affordable access for even aspirants in far-flung areas."



source : business- standards

[Kalyan]

Corus plant closure may cost 10k jobs

Nearly 10,000 jobs are under threat as Tata Steel's European arm Corus is mulling closing of one of its mills in England after a group of buyers terminated a contract to buy the unit's 80% produce for 10 years.

"Not only did the consortium's decision spell the end for an estimated 3,000 steel workers in the area, but a further 7,000 jobs in the supply train are also threatened," the Daily Mail newspaper reported in its on line edition.

A senior Corus official said that direct and indirect job losses are imminent with closure of industrial operations, though he did not confirm to such a figure. "We have 1,920 employees on the company's roll and 1,000 contractual workers.

There jobs are under threat. There will be indirect job losses too but we cannot confirm the figure," the official said.



courtesy : economic times

[Kalyan]

Seagate to cut 1,100 jobs to reduce costs

Seagate Technology said on Wednesday it plans to cut about 1,100 jobs from its workforce in a move the computer storage maker expects will reduce costs by about $125 million a year.

The job-cutting move, which affects about 2.5 per cent of Seagate's workforce, is aimed at helping the company stay on track toward being cash-flow and earnings positive within its fiscal year 2010.

As a result of the plan, Seagate, which competes with storage company Western Digital, expects to take restructuring charges of about $72 million, primarily in the quarter ending in June.

About one month ago, Seagate reported disappointing quarterly gross margins and eliminated its dividend, reflecting weak demand from corporate customers and stronger sales of lower-priced products.

The elimination of the quarterly dividend is expected to trim costs by about $60 million annually, the company said.

[Kalyan]

Daimler to cut 2,300 jobs at Mitsubishi Fuso unit

Daimler AG announced on Wednesday a restructuring plan for its Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation that is expected to result in some 2,300 job cuts by the end of next year.

Kawasaki, Japan-based Mitsubishi Fuso will close a bus production plant at Oye, near Nagoya by mid-2010 and shut a truck plant near the Thai capital, Bangkok, by the end of this year, Daimler said in a statement.

It also will streamline its retail network in Japan, its most important market, to ``adjust capacity to a declining market,'' Stuttgart-based Daimler said.

It added that Mitsubishi Fuso ``will focus on a core product lineup and profitable variants,'' cutting the number of model variants by half and part variants by 30 percent by the end of next year.

As a result, its global work force will shrink by about 2,300 people, Daimler said _ with the cuts being made through retirement, voluntary leave and other measures.

The company will reduce its overall fixed costs by 25 per cent, Daimler said.

Daimler board member Andreas Renschler said that the moves are meant to ``strengthen Fuso's ability to deliver benchmark profitability in a rapidly transforming global commercial vehicle market.''

[Kalyan]

ArcelorMittal laying off nearly 1,000 at US mill[/b]

The world's largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, will indefinitely lay off nearly 1,000 workers at a US plant this summer as part of a temporary shutdown of the mill's iron-producing operations.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal blamed the ``extraordinary economic environment'' for its decision to lay off 978 workers in July at the company's Indiana Harbor West mill in northwestern Indiana.

Although the mill's iron-producing operations will also be suspended indefinitely, another blast furnace at the East Chicago mill will remain in operation, the company said Wednesday.

ArcelorMittal said the layoffs and temporary halt to iron production at the mill along Lake Michigan are part of its move to temporarily cut its global production of steel by 45 percent.

``This was a difficult decision to make, but the company is being forced to respond to the extraordinary economic environment we are facing,'' the company said in a statement.

The statement said the company hopes that ``many of our employees'' can be called back to work as soon as market conditions improve.

A letter from the company posted on United Steelworkers Local 1011's Web site said the layoffs would be temporary and for an indefinite period of time. They would be made during a 14-day period starting July 12. The local represents workers at the Indiana Harbor West facility.

United Steelworkers District 7 Director Jim Robinson told The Times of Munster that the company and the union would begin talks to minimize the layoffs.

In November, ArcelorMittal said that as many as 2,444 employees at its nearby Burns Harbor, Indiana, facility could be laid off by January. After negotiations, however, the number of people voluntarily laid off was under 500, he said.

The company announced last month it would lay off about 400 workers by idling its Indiana Harbor Long Carbon facility, another part of the larger East Chicago facility that employs about 5,000 union workers and hundreds of nonunion workers.

Robinson said the past results can't predict how many jobs could be saved in East Chicago.



courtesy : economic times

[VelMurugan]

Seagate to cut 1100 jobs

Seagate Technology said that it plans to cut about 1,100 jobs from its workforce in a move the computer storage maker expects will reduce costs by about $125 million a year.

The job-cutting move, which affects about 2.5 percent of Seagate's workforce, is aimed at helping the company stay on track toward being cash-flow and earnings positive within its fiscal year 2010. It builds on a 10-percent reduction in jobs announced in January.

As a result of the new plan, Seagate, which competes with storage company Western Digital Corp, expects to take restructuring charges of about $72 million, primarily in the quarter ending in June.

Analysts said Seagate needs to make additional cost cuts like this, which may help it address debt obligations.

"The move will help the company avoid tripping its net leverage ratio debt covenant that was already renegotiated earlier this year," said JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, in a note to clients. "Seagate shares still face hurdles that could test investors' resolve in the slower summer months."

Seagate has been no stranger to restructuring in recent months as it deals with slow sales in the personal computer industry, which most others has seen demand shrink during the global economic downturn.

Back in December it said it would halt some operations during the holiday season and cut some 5 percent of its workforce.
About one month ago, on the same day that it reported disappointing quarterly gross margins, it eliminated its dividend.

The elimination of the quarterly dividend is expected to trim costs by about $60 million annually, the company said.

In January it replaced Chief Executive Bill Watkins, and Chief Operating Officer David Wickersham resigned. Chairman Stephen Luczo, who relinquished the CEO role to Watkins in 2004, has returned to the position.

Source : indiatimes

[VelMurugan]

BT plans to cut 15,000 more jobs

British telecoms carrier BT cut its dividend and announced 15,000 further job losses on Thursday after a 1.58 billion pound ($2.4 billion) writedown tipped it into a quarterly loss and its pension costs almost doubled.

The writedown is to be taken at its Global Services unit, which supplies the IT needs of multinational companies and which the company had for years striven to make its growth engine.

The group also said it would almost double its pension contributions to 525 million pounds ($794.1 million) a year.

BT, which has twice previously in the past year warned about profits at the Global Services unit, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and contract and financial review charges were 1.35 billion pounds, down 14 per cent.

Profit before tax on an adjusted basis was down 40 per cent and on a reported basis showed a 1.28 billion pound loss. To help meet its increased pension obligations, BT cut its final dividend to 1.1 pence to give a full year dividend of 6.5 pence, which was down 59 per cent on last year.

The pension contributions will almost double from the previous 280 million pound annual payment to 525 million pounds a year for the next three financial years.

BT has been engaged in a three-yearly pension review to establish the size of its deficit and what it should contribute to the scheme on an annual basis, based on its asset values and liabilities.

The last review in 2006 put BT's deficit at 3.4 billion pounds and set annual contributions on a 10-year recovery plan at 280 million pounds. BT said on Thursday the contributions would rise to 525 million pounds but did not reveal the new deficit from the three-year review. A leading pensions expert said that BT's pension deficit now stood at 11 billion pounds.

BT said its triennial pension funding valuation was at an advanced state of completion. It did give its pension position at March 31 on an IAS 19 accounting basis as a deficit of 2.9 billion pounds net of tax, compared with a surplus of 2 billion pounds last year.

BT said its total labour workforce, of both permanent and contract staff, fell by 15,000 to 147,000 in March, 2009 and said they expected a similar number next year.

The job cuts were all voluntary and through not replacing staff and BT said they expected this to be the case next year.

"Although far from impressive, the worst seems to be out of the way for BT," Trader Manoj Ladwa said.

"Shareholders are likely to be encouraged by its dividend policy and measures undertaken to turn around its underperforming Global Services Division."

Source : indiatimes

[dwarakesh]

Britain's BT Group cut its dividend and said a further 15,000 jobs would go after a 1.58 billion pound ($2.4 billion) write down and
Layoffs restructuring at its Global Services unit drove it to a fourth quarter loss.

The group, which had for years looked for growth at its Global Services unit which supplies the IT needs of multinational companies, also said it would almost double its pension contributions to 525 million pounds ($794.1 million) a year.

BT, which has twice previously in the past year warned about profits at the Global Services unit, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and contract and financial review charges were 1.35 billion pounds, down 14 percent.

Profit before tax on an adjusted basis was down 40 percent and on a reported basis showed a 1.28 billion pound loss.

To help meet its increased pension obligations, BT cut its final dividend to 1.1 pence to give a full year dividend of 6.5 pence, which was down 59 percent on last year.

The pension contributions will almost double from the previous 280 million pound annual payment to 525 million pounds a year for the next three financial years.

BT has been engaged in a three-yearly pension review to establish the size of its deficit and what it should contribute to the scheme on an annual basis, based on its asset values and liabilities.

The last review in 2006 put BT's deficit at 3.4 billion pounds and set annual contributions on a 10-year recovery plan at 280 million pounds.

BT said on Thursday the contributions would rise to 525 million pounds but did not reveal the new deficit from the three-year review.

A leading pensions expert said on Wednesday that BT's pension deficit now stood at 11 billion pounds

BT said its triennial pension funding valuation was at an advanced state of completion. It did give its pension position at March 31 on an IAS 19 accounting basis as a deficit of 2.9 billion pounds net of tax, compared with a surplus of 2 billion pounds last year. 

Source: Economictimes

[Kalyan]

Nike to cut about 1,750 jobs worldwide

Nike says it will cut about 1,750 jobs worldwide. That represents 5 per cent of the global work force at the shoe and apparel
company.

About 500 of the jobs lost will be at Nike's world headquarters in Oregon.

The company had announced in February that it is realigning its business and would cut jobs. Like many companies, Nike Inc has seen demand for its products slow as the global economic meltdown hurt consumer spending.

The company plans to complete the reductions in the coming weeks.



source : economic times