TechMahindra is set to hire 3,000 professionals as it prepares to establish a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad. The hiring push aligns with the company’s expansion strategy and commitment to scaling its workforce for specialised projects. This initiative is part of Tech Mahindra’s broader transformation. The company’s three-year performance improvement strategy, Project Fortius, aims to enhance operating margins, accelerate profit growth, and streamline client portfolios by cutting accounts that are not making profits. Tech Mahindra, which recorded $6.3 billion in revenue for FY24, plans to allocate approximately two per cent of its 1,50,488-strong workforce to operate Goodyear’s GCC. The…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Arvind Fashions has roped in Rohith Kumar as its new chief human resources officer. Prior to this, Kumar was associated with Hardcastle Restaurants as its chief people officer (CPO). He joined the company in the year 2023. With over 16 years of experience in the retail sector, Kumar’s expertise lies in talent management, talent acquisition, career management, organisational development and recruiting. He has also worked with many renowned brands such as Landmark Group, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail and HyperCITY Retail. Kumar began his professional journey with HyperCITY Retail in 2008, as a management trainee and officer-HR. In this role,…
Bihar is facing a major salary crisis, leaving around 8 lakh government employees without pay for two months. Even chief minister Nitish Kumar and state legislators are affected. Among them are 5 lakh teachers, 3 lakh regional staff, and 50,000 contract workers. The delay stems from a technical glitch in the new financial software, CFMS 2.0 (Comprehensive Financial Management System). The system, launched on 3 January, was meant to streamline salary payments. However, data-transfer issues from the previous software have disrupted transactions, leaving employees without their December and January salaries. This isn’t the first time Bihar has faced payroll issues.…
The US Agency for International Development (USAID), once integral to America’s worldwide humanitarian efforts, has been drastically trimmed as part of a federal workforce- reduction initiative. The agency’s workforce has reportedly been slashed from 10,000 employees to bately 300, leaving critical aid programme in uncertainty. The restructuring comes under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative led by Elon Musk to reduce federal spending. The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s promise to shrink government operations and cut back on international aid. USAID’s downsizing has left its Africa bureau with only 12 employees and the Asia bureau with just…
Emrana Sheikh has been appointed senior vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO), ITT Inc., a diversified manufacturer of highly-engineered critical components and customised tech solutions for the transportation, industrial and energy markets. She will be based in the US. Sheikh brings over 25 years of experience to the table. Her first long stint was with FedEx, where she served for over 12 years, from 1997 to 2009. Her last-held designation at FedEx was that of head of HR-learning and development for MEIA region. In 2009 she moved to Mahindra & Mahindra, as vice president-human resources. This role saw…
With net profit meeting expectations in Q4, Singapore’s DBS Group has decided to grant its employees a special bonus of S$1,000. The bank is expecting that its net interest income this year will be better than 2024. It posted a year-on-year increase in net interest margin, which rose from 2.13 per cent in Q4 of last fiscal to 2.15 per cent in the fourth quarter. The net profit has increased to $2.62 billion, 10 per cent more than the previous year. The bank has assigned a budget of S$32 million to pay the bonus to all employees except the senior…
Close on the heels of Google announcing an end to diversity hiring, Accenture too has decided to stop chasing diversity and inclusion (D&I) goals. Interestingly, as part of its commitment to diversity, in 2017, Accenture had declared that it would achieve a gender-balanced workforce, with 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men, by 2025. Just two months into the year 2025 the company says it will gradually eliminate all its global D&I goals that were set about eight years ago. Back then, the company had 1,50,000 women, which was nearly 40 per cent of its global workforce. Clearly…
Google is facing intense backlash from its employees after silently removing key ethical commitments from its artificial intelligence (AI) policy. This sudden move has triggered an internal storm, with employees voicing their outrage and accusing the company of abandoning its core values. The tech giant’s revised AI principles no longer prohibit the use of its technology for weapons, mass surveillance, or human rights violations. For years, Google had pledged not to develop AI tools for warfare, oppressive surveillance, or harmful applications. However, in a recent and unpublicised update, those commitments were removed. The company now frames its AI mission around…
US President Donald Trump has ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to compile and send an unclassified email listing all employees who have been with the agency for two years or less. This move is part of his effort to shrink the federal workforce. The list contains first names and initials of last names of new hires. Since they are still on probation, they can be dismissed more easily. Many of these employees were recently recruited as analysts and operators to focus on China-related intelligence. Their identities are typically highly protected due to the constant threat of cyberattacks from foreign…
Intel is set to eliminate 58 more jobs at its Folsom, California campus by the end of March. This move is part of its broader effort to reduce costs by $10 billion by 2025. The latest layoffs add to the 1,000+ positions already cut at the site since early 2023. Intel’s workforce reductions highlight its ongoing struggle to regain competitiveness in the highly-contested semiconductor market. Since late 2022, Intel has reduced its global workforce by 23,000 employees. In 2024 alone, the company cut 16,000 positions as it restructured operations. The Folsom campus, a key research and development hub, has been…
Over the next three years, Oracle, the global data management and cloud platform services firm plans to provide training to five lakh Indian youth and women. The training, under Project Vidya, will cover various digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cybersecurity, Gen AI, data science, cloud computing and application development. Earlier, Oracle had launched Project Vidya in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC), under the Naan Mudhalvan programme. Under this initiative, about 80,000 students have already received training and certification. Now Oracle wants to offer this programme on a national level, for which…
Phenom, a global firm in AI-driven HR technology, has acquired EDGE, a Bengaluru-based resource- management and talent- mobility platform. This acquisition strengthens Phenom’s capabilities in workforce intelligence, specifically for professional services firms and global capability centres (GCCs). Phenom is set to double its workforce within the next two years. It currently operates in Hyderabad, Vizag, and Bengaluru and plans to expand to more locations across India. The acquisition supports Phenom’s long-term strategy of growing its talent and technology base in key markets. This is Phenom’s sixth acquisition, reinforcing its mission to help a billion people find the right work. With…
Virtusa Corporation has appointed Nitesh Banga as its new president and CEO, effective 3 February, 2025. He succeeds Santosh Thomas, who is stepping down to pursue new opportunities. However, Thomas will continue as a strategic advisor during the transition. Banga joins Virtusa from Hitachi, where he was serving as CEO for its digital engineering business unit. He joined the company in April 2024. He has nearly three decades of experience in technology services, including over 20 years at Infosys. Prior to Hitachi, Banga was associated with GlobalLogic, a Hitachi group company. He joined the company in the year 2018 as…
Workday, the finance and human resources software company, has decided to trim its workforce by 8.5 per cent. That means 1,750 employees will be rendered jobless. This is part of the company’s strategy to focus on expanding its presence worldwide and also prioritizing the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI). The company is determined to make maximum use of its potential and leverage the strong foundation that it already has. The company reportedly had a workforce strength of well over 20,000 in October last year. Those being laid off will receive an official communication soon. Carl Eschenbach, CEO, Workday, has…
No official work should be done with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek. This is a directive from the Finance Ministry to all its employees. Why? For security reasons, of course! Use of AI is a threat to confidentiality, especially when the Ministry deals in several important government documents and data. The Ministry of Finance, India is not the only one concerned about security issues that accompany the use of AI tools. The governments of Italy and Australia too are being extremely cautious and have banned the use of similar tools. It is pertinent…
Tesla is looking for engineers and technicians at its facility in Fremont, California where it is reported that its Optimus humanoid robot, also called Tesla Bot will be mass produced. The job listing on social media indicates that Tesla is looking for manufacturing engineer technicians, manufacturing quality technicians, manufacturing process technicians, manufacturing equipment engineers, manufacturing controls development engineer, production manager, production supervisor, associate production manager, process supervisor, process-associate manager, process engineer, and quality engineer. All these positions are based in Fremont, California. The hiring-related posts appeared on the company’s hiring page, which was then posted on an X account. It…
Ferrari is set to reward its employees with an early bonus of €14,400 (Rs 1,301,882 approx) after posting strong financial results for 2024. The Italian automaker recorded net revenues of €6.67 billion, marking an 11.8 per cent increase from 2023. Net profit surged 21 per cent to €1.5 billion. The bonus will be distributed among 5,000 employees, surpassing the €13,500 (approx. Rs. 1,228,510) payout in 2023. The company expects continued growth in 2025, aiming to reach its 2026 profitability targets a year ahead of schedule. Ferrari’s financial success is attributed to strong product demand and increased customisation options. The positive…
A section of employees at Samsung’s Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai has gone on strike again. The protest follows the suspension of three employees, a move workers claim is linked to their association with the recently registered Samsung India Workers Union. Employees allege that the management is discouraging union representation and believe the suspensions are an attempt to suppress worker rights. They argue that no other valid reason justifies the disciplinary action taken against their colleagues. Samsung, however, maintains that the suspensions were due to disciplinary violations. The company claims the employees were involved in coercing workers to protest against the…
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reduced quarterly variable pay for senior employees for the second consecutive quarter, despite adherence to work-from-office norms. This move comes after a similar cut in the July-September quarter. In Q2, some employees received only 20-40 per cent of their quarterly variable allowances (QVA), while others got nothing. In contrast, Q1FY25 saw nearly 70 per cent payouts. Employees reported receiving significantly lower amounts than expected, with some getting as little as a fourth of their usual QVA. During Q3, 70 per cent of TCS employees—mainly juniors—received full QVA. The payouts of the remaining 30 per cent,…
Google has reportedly decided not to pursue any diversity goals or endeavour to improve diversity in its workforce. Looks like the company has had enough of diversity initiatives and is re-examining its programmes to eliminate what it calls ‘aspirational goals’. As per a Bloomberg report, the tech major will now focus on being an equal-opportunity employer allowing all members of its workforce to enjoy success and equal opportunities. This move comes on the heels of the executive order of US President Donald Trump that directed all federal employees working in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) roles to go on paid…
Walmart is gearing to lay off hundreds of employees and relocate many others, as per reports by Fox Business and Daily Mail. The American multinational retail company with headquarters in Arkansas is in the process of closing its office in North Carolina. While the exact number of employees to be impacted is not known yet, given that the company runs stores across the US as well as other countries, these sudden layoffs are concerning. Employees have reportedly been informed that some of them will have to relocate to other offices or to the headquarters. Those working in the Hoboken office…
About 140 employees of Kovai.co have received a bonus equal to 50 per cent of their gross annual salary. These are employees who joined the B2B SaaS company on or before 31 December 2022. About 80 employees have already received this reward for their hard work with their January salary. The Coimbatore-based company is giving away Rs 14.5 crore in bonuses to employees who have completed three years of service. This reward is part of the company’s initiative aptly titled ‘Together We Grow’. This programme was launched in 2022 to enable the company to share its profits with its employees. Interestingly,…
After a seven-year long association with Infogain, Rajiv Naithani has taken on the role of senior vice president, HR & OD, Persistent Systems. Naithani brings over two decades of experience to the table, having started his professional journey in 2002, as assistant manager, HCL Technologies. Three and a half years later, he moved to InterGlobe Technologies as assistant manager-HR before switching again to GlobalLogic. At GlobalLogic Naithani joined as deputy manager-HR in 2007. He was elevated in about a year’s time, to the post of manager-people development. In 2009, he was promoted again to the position of senior manager-people development…
More than 20,000 federal employees have opted for a resignation package allowing them to leave their jobs while continuing to receive taxpayer-funded salaries until the end of September. This accounts for roughly one per cent of the US federal workforce. The initiative is expected to accelerate resignations as the Thursday, 6 February, deadline approaches. The offer is part of a broader effort to reshape the federal workforce under the administration’s efficiency drive. President Donald Trump, along with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, aims to reduce the federal workforce by up to 10 per cent. However, reaching this goal…
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that an employee who was compulsorily retired in violation of rules and later reinstated must receive full wages and benefits for the period he was out of service. The division bench dismissed an appeal by the Bank of India (BOI) challenging an earlier ruling by a single-judge bench. The earlier order had directed the bank to compensate the employee for the years he was unemployed due to wrongful retirement. Narmada Prasad Chaudhary joined BOI in July 1974. In January 2002, the bank prematurely retired him from service. He challenged the decision in the…
Multinational software giant SAP has named Bhrigu Joshi as its new head-people & culture for its UK operations. He will also serve as vice president. In this new role, Joshi will be part of SAP UK’s CXO team. He will be responsible for driving business priorities while implementing the company’s global people agenda in the region. His focus will be on aligning HR strategies with SAP’s broader objectives. Before moving to London, Joshi held the same position at SAP Ireland. There, he collaborated with senior leaders to enhance people- management practices. His journey with SAP began in 2019 when he…