Google has been going through a phase of restructuring and realigning its workforce in response to its changing business priorities and economic cycles. In January 2023, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs globally as a part of a company-wide restructuring effort. The initial wave of layoffs impacted workers in the US, while additional rounds of layoffs have since occurred in other countries, including India, Singapore, and China. The current round of layoffs in China has mainly impacted high-paid senior employees “in an effort to reset the salary standard and improve overall work efficiency” as stated by…
Author: HRK News Bureau
UBS Group AG reduced its bonuses for the previous year by 10 per cent due to a decline in revenue resulting from a drop in mergers and capital raisings. The bank allocated $3.3 billion to employee bonuses in the last year, a decrease from about $3.7 billion, according to its annual report released on Monday, reported Bloomberg. While the employees are facing a decline in their bonus, Ralph Hamers, CEO, UBS Group AG, received a raise in his bonus from 11 million to 12.2 million Swiss francs. The raise given to Hamers is for his second year in the position.…
2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce We have seen a volatile global economy in 2022, with the impact differing from industry to industry. In my view, a couple of factors led to the ‘Great Resignation’, as we call it. First, we saw a huge growth in digital and ecommerce businesses, spurred by the pandemic. Then there was a resurgence of demand in many sectors as the economy opened up post pandemic. Easy availability of funding bankrolled many startups and businesses. Lastly, there was a talent supply – demand mismatch caused by a slowdown in hiring in the…
Impartus Innovations Impartus Innovations, a subsidiary of UpGrad, has recently laid off around 300 employees. This move reflects the cost-cutting and restructuring measures adopted by several edtech companies amidst the current funding crisis. The ed-tech startup acquired the video-learning platform in 2021. As reported by Financial Express, the decision will affect around 30 per cent of the workforce of the video-learning solutions provider. This is the second round of layoffs coming from an Upgrad subsidiary. In December 2022, UpGrad owned Harappa Education also laid off approximately 70 employees. UpGrad has made 14 acquisitions to date, including Harappa Education and INSOFE…
The NHM employees have stated that they will not return to work as they remain dissatisfied with the government’s response. In a recent order issued by the state government on March 4, 2023, it was announced that the salary hike will only be applicable to in-source or contractual employees hired under the NHM, and not to outsourced employees. The order specified that the one-time hike of 15 percent will apply to those with a monthly basic remuneration of less than ?20,000 at the time of joining, as well as medical officers with over five years of continuous service. For NHM…
Over the past three years, China has experienced a decline of more than 41 million in its workforce, as reported by Bloomberg. The reasons for this huge decline are said to be a combination of factors such as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and a reduction in the population of individuals of working age. Reportedly, one of the huge reasons contributing towards the mentioned decline is the decreasing number of individuals who fall into the “classic age group of the working-age population,” as stated by Stuart Gietel-Basten The report also mentions that China’s statistics bureau reported…
britBritannia has recently announced its plans to increase the percentage of women in its Madurai plant. The female workforce will increase from 65 per cent to 70 per cent by the end of 2024. The plant has a capacity of 190 tonnes per day and employs 1,400 people working in three shifts. The majority of the current female workforce are from the Nagari area surrounding the plant. Indranil Gupta, head of manufacturing, Britannia, highlighted that women are better suited for the nature of work in the biscuit manufacturing plant due to their multitasking skills. They are also more conscious…
2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce The Great Resignation took place due to several factors arising after the experiences of the persistent pandemic. This included the changes in workplace expectations, increased remote work opportunities, changing mindset of all the generations in the organisation after their combat with the pandemic, and the consequential effects on health, wellness and well-being. There was an increased realisation that health and quality of life is more important than anything. With several sectors getting back to better normalcy after the peak of the pandemic, coupled with the job market becoming very competitive, there…
In a recent development, the High Court of Karnataka has issued a verdict that housekeeping jobs are of a permanent nature and that workmen engaged in such jobs should be considered employees. Consequently, it has ordered the restoration of the services of several housekeeping workmen of Mysore Electrical Industries Limited (MEIL), a state-owned company. The matter pertains to 2000 when Shankar Nursery and Associated Detective & Security Services, which had a contract with MEIL to provide housekeeping workmen, terminated their contract and withdrew 66 workmen from work. The dispute reached conciliation proceedings and the Labour Court, which ordered workers to…
In the midst of the current bear market causing many major crypto exchanges and companies to downsize their staff, Binance, the largest crypto exchange, is charting a different course. Unlike its peers, Binance plans to bolster its workforce and has no plans for layoffs. By June 2023, the company aims to fill over 500 open positions. While other exchanges such as Coinbase and Robinhood have reduced staff numbers to cut operational costs, Binance is looking to expand its team, even during this crisis. The exchange’s spokesperson recently disclosed this information in response to reports suggesting that some job roles at…
The upper age limit for applying for government jobs has been extended by two years in Maharashtra. With this revision, now those who wish to apply for stage government jobs in the open category can do so till the age of 40. Those applying in the reserved category can apply till the age of 45. The move, it is hoped, will allow more people to be recruited to government posts. Additionally, job seekers who lost out on opportunities during the pandemic years will also get a chance at a government job. Many candidates from across the country, primarily those aspiring…
Former head-HR, Jindal India, Samir Kumar, has joined Goodluck India as corporate HR head. Kumar, who holds an MBA from Gujarat Technical University and has studied human resource management from XLRI Jamshedpur, is backed by over two decades of experience. From 1993 to 2006, Kumar worked with Steel Authority of India (SAIL). This assignment saw him based out of Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand, for 13 years. Having joined as a management trainee, he climbed up the corporate ladder fast and by the time he moved on in 2006, he was senior HR manager. In 2006, Kumar moved to Ispat Industries,…
Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics giant, has signed an agreement with the government of Telangana to establish a manufacturing facility in the state, which is expected to create job opportunities for more than 100,000 people. As per a report from Bloomberg, Foxconn Technology Group, a partner of Apple, is considering an investment of around $700 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in India, with the aim of increasing local production. On March 2, 2023, Foxconn’s Chairman, Young Liu, met with Telangana’s Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, to discuss the “historic deal,” according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s office.…
After a massive layoff spree in the last month, Goldman Sachs has stated that it is open to bringing on board new employees. The renowned investment bank is considering expanding its current team of 70 members in its digital asset’s division, as reported by Coin Telegraph. The bank recently laid off about 3,200 of its staff as part of a cost-saving initiative in January 2023, impacting executives at the senior, middle, and junior levels, and has focused on the company’s primary trading and banking divisions. The cryptocurrency industry has also experienced upheaval due to decreasing deposits, bankruptcies of prominent companies,…
On March 2, 2023, WH Smith, a British retailer, said that the company is conducting an investigation about a cyber security incident. The breach included the personal information of current and former employees, which has understandably caused concern for those affected. Despite this breach, the company has reassured its customers that its website, customer accounts, and underlying customer databases are stored on separate systems and were not impacted by the incident. This means that customer data remains secure and private, and there is no risk of unauthorized access to this information. Furthermore, the company has confirmed that its trading activities…
Ecom Express, has appointed Prashant Khullar as its chief human resources officer (CHRO). Khullar has announced his new position on social media, stating that he is excited to begin his role as the CHRO at Ecom Express. At Ecom Express Khullar will be managing a team of over 50,000 employees with a team of over 200 HR professionals. Khullar is an experienced HR leader who brings over two decades of expertise on the table. He’s well-known for his strong interpersonal, communication skills, and streamlining & balancing HR processes to achieve bottom-line results giving organisations a competitive edge. He has worked…
2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce While 2022 was volatile, the environment today has also come to be so unpredictable that we can hardly plan to shock proof. Focus has shifted to sustainable growth. As the market changes its personality, so does the business. A semi post-COVID environment opened up opportunities sending markets into a spin. It was an employees’ market for a certain period post which there were strong headwinds in the e-commerce space that led to some difficult decisions being taken. The underlying message here is that the fundamentals need to be strong and that…
Citigroup Inc. is axing hundreds of jobs, primarily impacting the investment banking and mortgage units. This round of job cuts will hardly affect one per cent of the workforce which has about 2.4 lakh members. Interestingly, Citigroup invested heavily in the upgradation of its technology infrastructure. The Bank has always maintained that spending on technology will reduce the dependency on manual labour in the long run, as processes become more efficient. The Bank has been working on converting processes that require intense manual labour into processes enabled by technology. As far as the investment banking unit is concerned, the Bank…
In Assam, India, the Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union (APMU) has announced an indefinite strike starting 4 March 2023. The LPG transport workers, who drive LPG tankers and carry cylinders across the State will stop loading and unloading work at various plants in protest of not being given a pay hike. The disgruntled workers are also seeking other benefits along with an increment. All movement of trucks transporting cylinders and tankers will come to a halt. This is expected to cause a scarcity of fuel in the retail market. Elsewhere, in northern India, in Delhi, the teachers of Delhi University (DU)…
Women make up 41 per cent of the active workforce. Ten years ago, they made up only 37 per cent of the workforce. While there has been an improvement, it is clearly not a phenomenal one. While women hold 74 per cent of administrative roles, they hold only 16 per cent of military roles, says the LinkedIn report on ‘Women in Sales: Top trends of female sales professionals’. As per the data, maximum women are seen holding administrative roles, followed by healthcare roles (16 per cent). This is followed by community, government and education and legal roles in that order,…
As per an insider report, the Facebook division of Meta is considering downgrading some middle managers. Meta middle managers were asked to start contributing as coders along with being managers. According to the same report, the managers who will be demoted will now work as ‘individual contributors’ in the same role that they were managing before. In November 2022, Meta announced nearly 11,000 job cuts in the first round of layoffs. The new information about downgrading employees comes in while there are still speculations that Meta might lay off more employees. According to the report, Meta may demote experienced managers…
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that foreign visitors to Canada who have a job offer can easily apply for and receive a work permit. To do that, they don’t have to leave the country anymore. This announcement comes in as an extension of a COVID-related temporary public policy that was originally set to expire today. The said policy has now been extended until February 28, 2025. Under this temporary policy extension, foreign visitors in Canada can now apply for a work permit without having to leave the country. Those who are approved for a work permit while…
Over 40 Starbucks corporate employees have signed a petition calling for the company to reverse its return-to-office hybrid work policy and to allow stores to unionise across the country. The letter was shared on Twitter by Starbucks Workers United, a union that has organised hundreds of Starbucks stores, and was also reported by Bloomberg. The employees who signed the letter are frustrated with the “unforeseen and poorly planned ‘return to office’ mandate” which they claim is “prioritising corporate control over productivity, diversity, and inclusion”. They argue that this policy reduces their “ability to positively impact the store partner experience” and…
Waymo, the self-driving division of Alphabet, has terminated over 200 workers in its second set of job cuts. According to a representative from Waymo who spoke to TechCrunch, the recent layoffs, which mainly affected engineering positions, are a component of a larger company-wide reorganisation aimed at achieving fiscal responsibility, shared IANS. Alphabet recently let go of 12,000 employees, including 100 robots that were responsible for cleaning its cafeteria at the headquarters. The recent job cuts in its self-driving division will reduce its workforce by 8 per cent. Waymo has recently revealed its intentions to conduct tests of fully autonomous vehicles…
2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce The Year 2022 was extremely volatile due to the after effects of the first two waves of Covid, the third wave of Covid in the beginning of the year, the war in Ukraine and the effects of these on the economy. An environment of uncertainty created a huge amount of stress on the entire ecosystem, i.e. country, corporates and individuals across the board, which led to the Great Resignation and layoffs later in the year. 2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace? The year 2023 will be a challenging…
Nike reportedly laid off several employees, including recruiters, who shared their experiences on LinkedIn. The company has not commented on the social media posts regarding these job cuts. The resignation of Ratnakar Lavu, Nike’s top technology executive, saw many employees using LinkedIn to vent their concerns. Expressing disappointment and frustration, they said they were caught off guard and were offered no support from the organisation either. Jordan Ingram, a senior talent acquisition partner at Nike, shared his experience on LinkedIn, expressing his love for his career and the opportunity to change people’s lives. Ingram also mentioned his need to provide…