Research & Ranking, research-driven equity advisory brand, announced the appointment of Sanjeev Jha as its new head-human resources. In his new role, Jha will lead all the strategic and people-centric initiatives, while directly reporting to Manish Goel, founder & director, Research & Ranking. Working closely with his team, Jha will also concentrate on recruiting top-notch talent, facilitating professional development, prioritising employee well-being, and cultivating a culture centred on performance. With a career spanning over 15 years, his expertise lies in fostering a transformational and diverse work environment. This can be seen in his last stint, where Jha was associated with…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Avanse Financial Services, an education-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC), has appointed Achal Goel as its new chief people officer ( CPO) effective November 2023. Goel will be based out of Avanse’s Mumbai head office. With a career spanning over two decades, Goel’s expertise lies in talent acquisition, managing employee relations, business partnering, talent management, stakeholder management, performance management, employee engagement and grievance redressal. In his new role, Goel will lead the human resources team in developing and implementing best practices, policies and procedures to support the organisation’s most important asset, its people, to not only grow professionally, but personally. Goel…
Byju’s has once again postponed the full and final settlement for its terminated employees. The company has reportedly laid off around 7,000 employees in multiple rounds since the beginning of 2022. Last month, the company let go of 600 employees from its marketing and content teams, and it had promised to settle their payments by 17 November. The payments are being made gradually, with October dues already settled, but employees laid off in June and July are still awaiting their final settlements. This restructuring follows the appointment of Arjun Mohan, CEO, Byju’s, and has impacted an estimated 4,000–5,000 jobs. This…
Titan, a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), aims to evolve into a Rs 1,00,000 Crore business in the next five years. To achieve this, the lifestyle company plans to recruit over 3,000 employees across various profiles, primarily at mid-to-senior levels. The core focus will be on individuals with deep domain expertise to explore new avenues. The hiring will span engineering, design, luxury, digital, data analytics/science, marketing, and sales. Specifically, roles for engineers are expected to increase by a minimum of 50 per cent in the next 2-3 years. “The aggressive hiring strategy…
There was quite a stir at OpenAI when Sam Altman, former CEO of the firm was unceremoniously removed from his post by the board during a Google Meet last week. Post his ouster, investors and employees had been pushing for his reinstatement. About 500 employees had even threatened to quit if Altman wasn’t brought back. Altman had hinted at a return but set a condition for the same. In fact, he had set a deadline for his reinstatement and made it clear that he wished to see the present board of directors of the company who fired him earlier, removed…
Favouring private employers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, ineffective since the time of its implementation. The High Court pointed out that the State of Haryana cannot have 100 per cent control over private employers and force them to follow something that is considered violation of the Constitution even when it comes to public employment. Quashing the Act that made it mandatory for 75 per cent of jobs in the private sector to be reserved for local candidates, a bench comprising justices Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan…
Students from reserved categories are up in arms against what they see as IIT-Kanpur’s discriminatory recruiting practices. The Institute has reportedly allowed recruiting firms to make it compulsory to mention entrance test ranks in their application forms. Therefore, the reserved category students are disappointed that they are being filtered during placement, basis their entrance-test ranks. The students from the ‘reserved’ category have raised their voices against the fact that the forms require them to mention the ‘general’ ranks secured in the JEE-Mains and JEE-Advanced exams. A student approached the director of IIT-Kanpur with a complaint. He also wrote to the…
The Bombay High Court agreed that firing an employee for consistently being absent from work is a fair decision. The HC rejected an employee’s petition challenging a decision by the Industrial Court to not interfere with the company’s / employer’s decision to terminate employment. The Industrial Court had upheld the company’s choice to fire the employee, dismissing the employee’s petition and the High Court affirmed this decision. Justice Milind N Jadhav stated that the termination of the petitioner’s services by the company was justified and not considered ‘unfair labour practice’ in this case. The Industrial Court correctly rejected the petitioner’s…
Indian edtech company PhysicsWallah reportedly initiated the removal of 120 positions as part of its recent mid-term performance evaluation on November 19. This move follows recent speculations suggesting that the edtech unicorn instructed numerous employees to leave the company. According to a senior company official, the decision to terminate the employment of these 120 individuals was made after conducting a mid-term performance evaluation in October. The official responded to inquiries from the newspaper, addressing unverified social media posts alleging approximately 500 terminations at PhysicsWallah. In an official media statement, Satish Khengre, chief human resources officer, PhysicsWallah, clarified that the company…
Salesforce is providing upskilling opportunities for women across several countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and India. The company has surpassed its commitment to offer 500,000 upskilling opportunities to women under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Upskilling Initiative. Initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in September 2022, this program aims to provide women in the Indo-Pacific region with access to digital skills training, fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth. In its inaugural year, Salesforce has already delivered over 3 million opportunities and expanded its upskilling initiatives to various countries, including India. In India, Salesforce has partnered with…
General Motors’ autonomous technology division, Cruise, has decided to terminate its share cash-out programme for employees in the fourth quarter. The decision comes in the aftermath of an accident that led to the suspension of Cruise’s self-driving vehicle operations. The equity programme was introduced last year. This initiative allows both current and former employees to sell their vested equity to GM and other investors on a quarterly basis. In an official mail, Kyle Vogt, CEO, Cruise, conveyed that the company will reassess the employee-equity programme due to the suspension, which has resulted in a delay in the commercialisation and revenue-generation…
It hasn’t been long since Amazon reduced headcount in its music and gaming units. Now, there is to be job cuts in Amazon’s Alexa unit. With Amazon deciding to shift priorities and deciding to concentrate more on generative artificial intelligence (AI), hundreds of employees from its voice-assistant unit may be rendered jobless. The exact number of people to be laid off is yet to be known, although reports say that employees in the US, Canada and India will be affected. Very recently, employees were let go in the music and gaming divisions, as well as the human resources department. The…
This month, Infosys will be issuing quarterly performance bonuses for the July–September period to eligible employees. The anticipated average payout is 80 per cent, with individual amounts dependent on how each employee performed and contributed in the quarter. Those at position level 6 (PL6-manager) and below, excluding entry-level positions, qualify for the variable pay, as per an ET report. As per media reports, the official mail sent to the employees stated that the Q2FY2024 quarterly performance bonus will be paid out in the November 2023 payroll for eligible employees. This week, unit-delivery managers will finish distributing payouts to their units…
Sam Altman, former CEO, OpenAI, who was removed from his post in an unceremonious manner last week has hinted at a return but set a condition for the same. In fact, he has set a deadline for his reinstatement and wishes to see the present board of directors of the company who fired him earlier, removed by then. Last week, Altman was removed from the CEO post following which Greg Brockman, co-founder and president, OpenAI, had also departed. Altman was asked to leave following a review that indicated that he wasn’t always frank and honest when it came to communicating…
Failure to return to the office may hinder Amazon employees’ chances of receiving promotions. Amazon has clarified that employees who do not adhere to the work-from-office guidelines will require approval from the vice president for promotions. Amazon has conveyed to the employees that managers are responsible for the promotion process. This entails supporting employees’ growth through regular discussions, stretch assignments, and fulfilling all necessary inputs for a promotion. Additionally, the company stated that if employees whose roles require 3+ days of presence in the office fail to comply, their managers will be notified, and approval from a vice president will…
The summer placement for the human resource management (HRM) & Labour Relations (LR) batch of 2023-25 at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai saw all the participants being placed. The highest stipend offered was Rs 4.5 lakh for two months, with 66 out of the total batch of 71 being offered a stipend of Rs 2 lakh and above. The season witnessed participation from GE Healthcare, Asian Paints, Accenture, Aditya Birla Group, Nestle, Shell, ITC, Flipkart, Bajaj Auto, Citi and other regular recruiters. The average stipend of the top 10 and 25 per cent was Rs 4 lakhs…
Amid its restructuring initiative, the Embracer Group, a Swedish video game and media holding company, disclosed a workforce reduction of 904 employees over the past three months. The company communicated the news after the announcement of its most recent quarterly earnings. These job cuts account for approximately five per cent of Embracer’s overall workforce, occurring despite a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in net sales to SEK 1.8 billion ($170.5 million) in Q2. Although the latest earnings report suggests a potential improvement in the situation, it is evident that the Group continues to face ongoing challenges. The layoffs affected personnel…
Tredence, a data science and AI solutions company, has appointed Soma Pandey as its new chief human resources officer (CHRO). In this role, Pandey will collaborate with key stakeholders to preserve the company’s high-achievement culture during its ambitious growth phase. Pandey is a seasoned HR professional, backed by over two years of global experience. Her expertise lies in transforming talent capabilities to align with the business strategies of advanced technology-driven companies. Prior to joining Tredence, Pandey was associated with Cognizant as its global lead-careers and culture for two years. She has also worked with several other organisations such as Firstsource,…
On 16 November 2023, Salesforce announced its intentions to collaborate with the Ministry of Education in India with the primary objective of providing Salesforce skills training to 1,00,000 students. This will benefit students within the Indian education system over the course of the next three years. The compnay drew attention to the significant talent pool available in India and how important skills are in making a difference. It expressed delight in collaborating with the Ministry of Education to support skill development, emphasising the power of collaboration in driving positive change. The programme will offer course content recognised by the National…
Amazon India and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have joined forces to expand the Women of the World (WoW) initiative nationwide. WoW empowers women engineering students with essential skills for the tech industry. The collaboration, signed by Suman Yadav of Amazon and Prof. T G Sitharam of AICTE, aims to provide women with tools and knowledge for success in technology. Connecting female students with the Amazon community, the programme will offer skill sessions and valuable resources. This partnership aligns with AICTE and Amazon’s shared vision of nurturing talent for the tech sector. Through this agreement, Amazon is…
Thousands of employees from over 200 Starbucks outlets across the US walked out on one of the chain’s busiest days. On Red Cup Day, the chain was offering reusable cups to customers in exchange for holiday drink orders, so naturally the crowds were bigger at the stores. The walkouts on 16 November 2023 were part of the Workers United union’s efforts to unionise the Starbucks outlets. This was probably the largest strike in the last two years since the unionisation campaign began. The ‘Red Cup Rebellion’ may have seen participation from over 5,000 workers. Walkouts were staged in about 30…
Government employees in the district of Kasargod, Kerala have been ordered to attend the state government’s outreach programme, Nava Kerala Sadas, on 19 November 2023. Cancellation of a holiday and making it a working day has not gone down well with the public. Kasaragod Collector Inbasekar Kalimuthu issued an order directing all government employees in the district to be present at the Nava Kerala Sadas events as part of which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his ministers would be touring all 140 constituencies of the state. The Collector has asked the heads of departments to assign duties to the employees…
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is facing criticism for relocating more than 2,000 employees to different cities without adequate notice or consultation. The company has sent transfer notifications to nearly 2,000 associate employees, providing them only a two-week timeframe to relocate. The company has also instructed employees to manage their own travel and accommodation arrangements, with the promise of reimbursement at a later date. Allegations from employees suggest that those who opposed the transfers are now facing repercussions, as the IT firm has currently restricted their access to office systems. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an IT labour association,…
A nationwide strike is scheduled to take place across major public and private banks from 4 December, 2023 till 20 January 2024. The All India Bank Employee Association ( AIBEA), which comprises institutions such as the State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, and Bank of Baroda, has announced that the strike will commence on 4 December. The strike will kick off with a nationwide protest at SBI, Punjab National Bank, and Punjab and Sind Bank on 4 December 2023. Additionally, several banks will remain closed on 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 December. As per an official statement, the employee…
As per a recent ruling by the Federal Court, Tesla has not violated the US Labour Law by preventing employees at its main Fremont, California, assembly plant from wearing pro-union t-shirts. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, ruled on Tuesday, 14 November, 2023, that Tesla’s uniform policy was lawful. The court overturned a 2022 ruling by the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) that stated any effort to prohibit union symbols was considered unlawful unless an employer could demonstrate ‘special circumstances,’ such as safety concerns. In the recent ruling, however, the court emphasised that the company…
Nayara Energy, a downstream energy company, has appointed Richa Dubey as its chief people officer (CPO). Before joining Nayara Energy, Dubey held the position of chief human resources officer at Vedanta Resources, overseeing their iron and steel and iron and alloy businesses. Dubey embarked on her HR career as an HR executive at Crompton Greaves in 1995. She later worked as an HR consultant at Mafoi and as an assistant HR at Ivega Corporation. In 2000, she became senior manager human resources at Celstream Technologies and spent four years there. Following that, she served as HR manager at Broadcom Corporation…