When G.S. Ramesh joined Hyundai as its first Indian employee, he found himself at the intersection of two very different approaches to work. The Korean management culture brought its own expectations around discipline, performance and ways of working. The Indian workforce brought a different cultural context. For Ramesh, the challenge was not to turn one into the other. “You cannot convert Indians to Koreans. And you cannot become Indian. So better synergise yourself,” he recalls in a conversation with HRKatha. His response was to think about a culture that could draw from both. He even coined a word for it:…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Oyster Renewable Energy, a leading provider of customised hybrid renewable energy solutions for Commercial & Industrial (C&I) clients, has announced the appointment of Sandeep Arora as its chief financial officer. In his new role, Arora will spearhead the company’s financial strategy, capital structuring and long-term financial planning, playing a critical role in driving Oyster’s expansion journey. Sandeep Arora has a proven track record in capital raising, project finance, financial planning, investment strategy and risk management. His deep expertise in financing large-scale renewable projects and managing complex capital structures will be key as Oyster Renewable looks to scale its portfolio and…
Shiprocket has expanded the mandate of Saumya K, appointing her as the group CHRO and business head at 10XPeople.Ai. In her enhanced role, she will continue to lead the group HR function while taking on additional responsibility for 10XPeople.Ai, Shiprocket’s AI-native HRMS platform focussed on simplifying and scaling people management. She will now be responsible for the platform’s business, growth and P&L. Saumya K has been with Shiprocket since 2021 and brings over two decades of experience working closely with founders, CEOs and boards across transformation, hyper-growth, IPO and listed-company environments. Her expertise spans people strategy, technology, enterprise value creation…
French food services and catering firm Sodexo has announced plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs in its home market as part of a broader organisational overhaul. The company said on 26 August,2026, that it will eliminate 963 positions in France, which accounts for around 4 per cent of its French workforce. In addition, a separate restructuring project linked to its group head office could lead to a further 134 job losses, taking the total beyond the 1,000 mark. According to Sodexo, the move is part of a strategic transformation designed to accelerate growth and improve competitiveness in a challenging…
Infinite Locus has appointed Vimal Kishor as director – talent acquisition, marking a key addition to its leadership team. In his new role, Vimal will lead talent acquisition at Infinite Locus, driving hiring strategy, leadership recruitment and workforce planning. The move is seen as a significant milestone in his career spanning talent acquisition, leadership hiring, workforce strategy and HR leadership. Before joining Infinite Locus, Vimal served as Head of HR at BiUP.ai, where he led end-to-end hiring across product, engineering, AI/ML, 3D, Design, GTM and leadership functions. During his tenure, he built scalable recruitment frameworks and employer branding initiatives for…
The Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC), Bhubaneswar, under the Ministry of MSME, has successfully completed its four week Summer Internship Programme in May and June 2026. The initiative trained 8,083 engineering students from 22 states and union territories, along with 26 international students from Sudan and Yemen. The programme was open to students from first year to final year and covered a wide range of disciplines including Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Civil, and Computer Science. It also focused on new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, the Internet of Things, and Additive Manufacturing. The aim was to…
Thousands of Airbus employees in Spain have started an indefinite strike after rejecting management’s latest offer on pay and working conditions. The strike began on 25 August, 2026, following earlier short stoppages and meetings. Workers had already staged warning strikes in July, but compromise proposals were rejected in a companywide vote. As per reports, unions say around 90 per cent of eligible staff joined the first full day of action, slowing production. Airbus has not confirmed the participation numbers or the impact on aircraft output. The strike covers several issues: wages, holiday scheduling, remote work, employee transport, and the use…
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has upgraded its member portal to provide eight essential PF services online, removing the need for physical visits to regional offices. The revamped dashboard consolidates services that were earlier scattered across multiple windows. Members can now activate UAN, generate UAN under Direct UAN Allotment without waiting for employer creation, update KYC details, check PF balance via e-passbook, file e-nomination, and submit withdrawal claims including PF Final Settlement (Form 19), Pension Withdrawal Benefit (Form 10-C) and PF Part Withdrawal (Form 31). EPFO has clarified that claims can now be filed directly by members without employer intervention,…
A growing sense of purposelessness at work is fuelling loneliness and triggering a creativity crisis, according to a new study. The research finds that employees who see their daily tasks as meaningless are more likely to feel disconnected from their teams and organisations. This emotional disengagement, the study notes, directly impacts their ability to think creatively and contribute new ideas. Instead of collaboration, workers stuck in monotonous or low-value jobs tend to withdraw. The absence of meaningful interaction, combined with the feeling that their work does not matter, creates a cycle of isolation. Over time, this lowers motivation and blocks…
Internal documents and interviews reportedly reveal that Meta had drawn up a radical restructuring plan called Project OT, short for Organisation Transformation. The idea was to make the company “AI native” by shifting much of the daily work from human employees to artificial intelligence (AI) systems. To achieve this, Meta explored cutting team sizes by as much as 60 per cent in two waves — one in May and another in November. The plan would have meant thousands of layoffs, redeployments into new units, and closure of open positions. Some employees would have been moved to priority areas such as…
Abhinandan Ventures has elevated Kiran Prasad Ivaturi to executive vice president and group CHRO. He has been with the incubators and investors since September of 2023. A mechanical engineer who went on to complete a PGDHRM in Human Resources from Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Kiran Prasad Ivaturi trained with Marico for a year as management trainee-HR, from 2005 to 2006. He was appointed manager-HR, Marico in June of 2006. In less than two years, he was promoted to divisional sales manager: South. He was the first to play that role in the company. Later on, he got the opportunity…
Electrolux Group has appointed Pallavi Mishra as vice president, HR & communications for region APAC, effective 1 September 2026. Based in Bangkok, she will join the APAC leadership team and drive the company’s strategic people and culture agenda across the region. Mishra announced the move on LinkedIn, calling it the next chapter in her professional journey and expressing her commitment to contributing to Electrolux’s growth in APAC. She joins Electrolux from Honeywell, where she spent almost a decade. Her most recent role was senior director HR – Asia Pacific from September 2023 to present, leading the end-to-end HR agenda for…
PepsiCo Inc. is ending insurance coverage for prescription weight-loss medications for some employees effective October, as costs of GLP-1 drugs surge. Staff were informed this week in an email from Express Scripts, Cigna Group’s pharmacy benefits manager. The message, reviewed by Bloomberg, stated that weight-loss drugs are now “one of the fastest-growing costs in the PepsiCo plans” and that dropping them will help “maintain a healthcare programme that is sustainable and affordable for all PepsiCo employees.” The maker of Mountain Dew, Cheetos and Doritos said workers who wish to continue treatment can pay outside company plans. The email pointed to…
A young employee in China has developed a serious muscle-related condition after allegedly being forced to perform 200 squats as punishment for failing to meet workplace targets. The employee, identified by her surname Yang, had moved to Hangzhou in Zhejiang province for her first job. She joined a loan assistance company in June as a financial consultant, with her role largely involving tele-sales. Her team reportedly operated with strict daily performance targets. Employees were expected to make 200 calls, bring in at least one prospective client and secure one customer showing an intention to work with the company. On 28…
Government employees across Punjab have launched a statewide strike, affecting public services including outpatient departments (OPDs) at government hospitals. The protest is centred on several long-pending demands, including regularisation of contractual staff and payment of pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments. Employees from multiple government departments are participating in the 27 August strike. The protest is being held at block, district and state headquarters levels, with workers from healthcare, education, electricity, agriculture and animal husbandry departments among those joining the action. At Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Government Medical College in Amritsar, OPD services and general operation theatres have been affected.…
Employees across the UAE and GCC are placing greater importance on practical workplace benefits than lifestyle perks such as free meals and snacks, a new workplace study by NAVO has found The study analysed more than 3,000 employer and employee sources. These included 2,000 employer sources, such as job advertisements, careers’ pages and LinkedIn posts, along with more than 1,000 employee reviews and workplace discussions across platforms including Glassdoor, Indeed, Reddit, Blind and Fishbowl. After removing duplicate and generic references, the research identified 1,121 specific mentions of workplace benefits. Health benefits emerged as the most frequently- mentioned priority, with 124…
Water and wastewater solutions company Gradiant has expanded its engineering presence in Coimbatore, more than doubling the workforce at its Global Engineering Center (GEC) from around 100 to over 200 professionals. The expansion is part of the company’s plan to strengthen its engineering and project-execution capabilities in India as it grows its international business across semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and other industries with critical water requirements. The enlarged centre will bring together expertise in process engineering, detailed design and project engineering. This will enable the Coimbatore team to take greater responsibility for engineering and design work linked to Gradiant’s projects across…
Meesho has introduced Care+, a Career Continuity Framework designed to support employees before, during and after parental leave, with a focus on helping them manage caregiving responsibilities without compromising long-term career growth. The framework brings together structured return-to-work planning, flexible work arrangements, performance safeguards and caregiving benefits, extending support beyond the period of parental leave. At the centre of Care+ is a structured reintegration process. Employees begin planning their return before going on caregiver leave, working with their managers and HR business partners to develop personalised plans covering expectations, milestones and ongoing support. Employees can also opt for flexible work…
Allcargo Logistics is set to increase its workforce by 20 per cent across its Express Distribution and Consultative Logistics businesses as retailers prepare for higher shipment volumes during the upcoming festive season. The expansion will take the combined workforce across the two businesses to around 9,000 employees during the peak period. The move is aimed at strengthening operational capacity and maintaining delivery and service levels as retail activity increases. The company’s domestic supply chain operations support retailers through a combination of warehousing, transportation, express distribution, store replenishment, e-commerce fulfilment and reverse logistics. The additional workforce will support these operations as…
WPP Media has strengthened its talent leadership with the appointment of Ekta Khanna as talent acquisition lead – India GOC. In her new role, she will lead hiring for WPP Media’s India Global Operations Centre, focusing on scaling hiring capabilities, workforce planning and aligning talent strategy with evolving business priorities. Khanna brings over two decades of expertise spanning talent acquisition, HR operations, stakeholder management and recruitment transformation. She joins WPP Media from Marks and Spencer Reliance India, where she served as head – talent acquisition and people operations from September 2019 to July 2026. During her six years’ tenure in…
Wipro’s AI-powered learning agent iSkill has crossed 7,500 conversations with employees since its launch in December 2025, as the IT services company looks to make upskilling more personalised and accessible across its workforce. Developed within Microsoft 365 Copilot, iSkill helps employees identify relevant learning programmes based on their roles, functions, skills and previous certifications. The agent is available through Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams. The tool currently has more than 100 active unique learners. It works alongside Wipro’s AI Academy, the company’s internal learning platform established three years ago to build AI capabilities across its workforce. The Academy currently…
Telangana is setting up dedicated ‘Employee Mitra’ helpdesks at 17 super-speciality hospitals across Hyderabad to help government employees, pensioners and their dependants access healthcare services under the New Employee Health Scheme (NEHS). The helpdesks are designed to provide beneficiaries with information about medical treatments and services available under the scheme at participating hospitals. They will also assist employees and pensioners with details about eligible procedures and the healthcare facilities covered under NEHS. The initiative was announced during the launch of an Employee Mitra helpdesk at Continental Hospitals on August 25. The new support mechanism is intended to make it easier…
Employee associations in Andhra Pradesh are considering a joint agitation over several long-pending demands concerning government employees, teachers and pensioners. The Andhra Pradesh JAC Amaravati has invited the Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) Association and the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Employees’ Association to participate in a State-level conference scheduled to be held in Vijayawada on August 28. The move comes after AP JAC Amaravati leaders sought the support of the two organisations for a coordinated campaign, particularly on issues involving the financial benefits of employees, teachers and pensioners. A delegation led by Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, chairman, AP JAC Amaravati, met representatives of…
A series of routine workplace messages between an employee and his manager has attracted attention online, with users highlighting the value of simple and supportive communication at work. The exchanges were shared on Reddit’s r/IndianWorkplace by an employee who said he wanted to show a different side of workplace culture. The subreddit frequently features posts about difficult managers, workplace pressure and negative employee experiences. In contrast, the screenshots shared by the employee showed his manager responding to requests for sick leave and work from home without unnecessary questions or pressure. In one exchange, an employee informed the manager that a…
Starbucks is set to eliminate 224 corporate and remote positions connected to its Seattle headquarters as the coffee chain continues to reorganise its corporate operations and expand its presence in Nashville, Tennessee. The job cuts were disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing submitted to the Washington Employment Security Department. The first separations are scheduled for 19 October, 2026, with the affected positions expected to be eliminated by 1November. The filing covers employees associated with Starbucks’ headquarters at 2401 Utah Avenue South in Seattle. Around 120 employees affected by the changes had been offered the option to…
India’s skilling ecosystem is yet to translate training opportunities into formal employment for a large proportion of women, with 71 per cent either engaged in informal work or outside employment, education and training altogether. Only three per cent are in formal employment, according to a recent NITI Aayog report. The findings indicate that the challenge is not limited to the availability of skilling programmes. Women continue to face practical barriers that affect both their ability to participate in training and their transition into jobs. Caregiving responsibilities, safety concerns, inadequate public transport, limited childcare facilities and the distance of training centres…