The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) mentioned that India’s tourism sector could create 100 million additional jobs by 2047. It stated that tourism had the potential to become one of the largest employment generators if the government and industry worked together. FAITH explained that the sector already supported millions of jobs across hotels, aviation, transport, and food services. However, it added that growth had been limited due to policy gaps, poor infrastructure, and a shortage of skilled workers. The body suggested that better roads, airports, digital connectivity, and simpler visa rules would help the sector expand…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Bungie has announced a major round of layoffs as Destiny 2 reaches the end of its service life. While exact figures haven’t been shared, reports suggest the cuts could affect 40–55% of the studio’s workforce—potentially several hundred employees. This follows earlier layoffs in 2023 and 2024, marking a difficult period for the developer despite Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition in 2022. Destiny 2 is an online multiplayer first person shooter game developed by Bungie. It combines fast paced combat with role playing elements, where players team up to complete missions, explore worlds, and battle enemies in a shared online universe. It became…
The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) will recruit 224 personnel across engineering, information technology, and operations roles to accelerate India’s first bullet train project. The move comes as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor transitions from heavy civil construction to systems installation and operational planning. The openings cover a wide range — project and design engineers, track and overhead equipment (OHE) experts, signalling and telecom professionals, rolling stock supervisors, safety officers, and IT specialists in network, software and data analytics. Preference will be given to candidates with exposure to metro rail, infrastructure megaprojects, or Japanese Shinkansen practices. These 224 positions are aimed…
Swiggy, the Indian on-demand convenience platform, has unveiled a first-of-its-kind financial-wellness initiative designed to help its nationwide delivery fleet build long-term savings. Through a new integration within the Swiggy Rider app, delivery partners can now seamlessly invest a portion of their earnings into mutual funds, starting with an amount as low as Rs 100. This initiative underscores Swiggy’s commitment to empowering its gig workforce by fostering financial discipline. Developed in collaboration with a digital-first fund house, the programme allows riders to save flexibly for emergencies or future milestones—such as purchasing a new two-wheeler, funding education, or meeting family goals. Designed…
Asaya has strengthened its scientific bench with two key hires as it scales in-house R&D for skincare tailored to melanin-rich Indian skin. Dr Prasun Bandyopadhyay has been named CTRO and strategic partner, tasked with leading the brand’s research agenda and innovation pipeline. His three-decade career spans R&D leadership roles at Unilever, L’Oréal Research & Innovation, Himalaya Wellness, and Dabur, where he was most recently VP of home & personal care R&D. He holds a PhD from IIT Kanpur and has over 50 patents and 50+ publications. Vinitha K joins as head of research & development. She brings 18 years…
Wipro has reported a decline in the number of employees earning more than Rs 1 crore annually in India, reflecting the company’s ongoing focus on cost management amid a challenging business environment for the IT services sector. According to the company’s FY26 annual report, 101 employees fell into the Rs 1 crore-plus salary bracket during the financial year ended March 31, 2026. This marks a decline from 107 employees reported in the previous fiscal year. The reduction coincided with a fall in Wipro’s overall employee compensation expenses. The company said compensation costs declined by Rs 5.9 billion during FY26. The…
The Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR) has announced the return of its flexible summer working initiative for government employees, offering reduced working hours and greater flexibility during the warmer months. The programme, titled Our Flexible Summer 2026, will run from 29 June to 10 September and aims to support employee wellbeing while maintaining service delivery-standards across government entities. Under the initiative, employees will be divided into two work groups. The first group will work seven-hour days from Monday to Thursday and a shorter workday on Friday. The second group will follow an extended schedule from Monday to Thursday but…
Rajasthan will need significantly higher participation of women in the formal workforce if it is to achieve its ambition of becoming a $350 billion economy by 2030, according to industry representatives and government officials at a recent *consultation* in Jaipur. The discussion took place at an industry roundtable focused on advancing women’s participation in formal employment. Stakeholders from government bodies, industry and workforce- development organisations came together to examine the challenges preventing more women from entering and remaining in the workforce. Participants highlighted that while employment opportunities for women are expanding, several barriers continue to limit their participation. Issues related…
Tata Steel has finalised a long-term wage revision agreement with its recognised unions at Jamshedpur, bringing significant salary increases and enhanced benefits for employees across multiple categories. The settlement will remain in force from 1 January, 2025, to 31 December, 2031, and covers employees in both the NS Series and Old Series categories, including workers at the Tubes Division. The agreement is expected to benefit thousands of employees and is among the most extensive wage settlements signed by the company in recent years. As part of the revision, employees in the NS Series will receive a minimum guaranteed monthly benefit…
Asahi India Glass (AIS) has elevated Gopal Ganatra as chief human resources officer (CHRO), adding HR leadership responsibilities to his existing role as executive director. In his expanded role, he will lead the company’s people agenda, focusing on talent management, leadership development, organisational effectiveness and workforce planning. A member of the company’s top management team, Ganatra brings more than two decades of experience at AIS and a deep understanding of its business, governance, strategy and operations. Ganatra has been associated with Asahi India Glass for over 21 years. He has served as executive director since 2017 and continues to hold…
JPMorganChase has appointed Aditi Mahadevan Nair as head-human resources, marking the latest milestone in a career spanning more than two decades across the financial services and telecommunications sectors. Based in Singapore, Nair will lead the organisation’s people agenda, bringing extensive experience in strategic HR business partnering, talent management, leadership development, rewards and workforce transformation. Prior to joining JPMorganChase, Nair served as managing director and head-human resources – Asia Pacific, Barclays. In this role, she led HR strategy across the region for nearly four years. Before Barclays, she spent more than 17 years with Citi, holding several senior leadership positions. Her…
West Bengal’s 2026-27 budget has unveiled a major employment and welfare push, with plans to fill 1 lakh government vacancies and a steep increase in dearness allowance (DA) for employees and pensioners. Presenting the budget on 22 June 2026, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said dearness allowance for state government employees and dearness relief (DR) for pensioners will be raised by 20 percentage points from 1 October, taking the total to 38 per cent. The hike cuts the gap with the central government DA by 22 percentage points, addressing a long-pending demand from employee unions. The recruitment plan covers 20,000 posts…
Aditya Kankaria has taken charge as senior director – integrated operations at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), the bottling arm of Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia. With 16+ years of experience in telecom and FMCG, Kankaria will be responsible for driving end-to-end operational excellence across HCCB. His role will focus on accelerating transformation initiatives, ensuring sustainable and profitable growth, and building stronger capabilities in partnership with bottlers and internal teams. Strengthening commercial execution on the ground will be a key priority. Before joining HCCB, Kankaria was the CEO of Airtel’s Mumbai Circle. There, he led the business to a market-leading position,…
Kotak Neo, a technology-driven trading and investment platform by Kotak Securities, has promoted Mahak Chowdhary to deputy vice president, recognising her nine-year rise through the company’s human resources team. She stepped into the new role in May 2026 after serving as associate vice president-human resources for over two years. Chowdhary’s career at Kotak Neo began in April 2017 as a management trainee in HR. In 2018, she moved up to deputy manager, where she spent one year handling core HR operations. She became the manager-human resources in April 2019, taking on more responsibility in talent and people strategy. In April…
A Tesla employee’s social-media post detailing a seven-day work schedule has triggered widespread discussion around long working hours and employee wellbeing in the technology industry. The video, shared on Instagram by a Tesla employee, offered a snapshot of what was described as a typical workweek. The post outlined daily working hours across all seven days, adding up to approximately 54 hours a week. The schedule included extended workdays during weekdays, with work continuing over the weekend as well. The post quickly gained traction online, drawing thousands of views and comments. While some users viewed the schedule as a reflection of…
Starbucks is strengthening its employee advocacy strategy through a new partnership with TikTok that will allow select employees to earn compensation for creating social-media content about the brand. The coffee chain has become the first company to pilot a customised Creator Network within TikTok’s Content Suite. The initiative builds on Starbucks’ Green Apron Creators programme, launched in 2024 to encourage employees to share authentic workplace and brand-related content on social-media platforms. Under the new pilot, Starbucks will be able to share content briefs directly with participating employee creators. Selected employees will also be eligible to receive compensation through an advertising…
Google is strengthening its relationship with former employees by launching a new incubator programme aimed at supporting ex-Googlers building artificial intelligence startups. Backed by Google’s AI Futures Fund, the initiative seeks to nurture promising AI ventures emerging from the company’s extensive alumni network. The programme reflects a growing trend among large technology firms to remain connected with former employees who go on to become entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders. The incubator will run for 12 weeks and is designed to provide early-stage AI startups with access to funding, technology resources and mentorship. Selected participants will receive up to $350,000 in…
A fintech startup’s employee has inadvertently sparked a wider debate on workplace AI governance after spending more than $80,000 worth of AI credits while developing a video game. San Francisco-based fintech company Slash recently disclosed on social media that one of its employees accumulated a significant AI-coding bill while creating an AI-generated shooter game. The company had reportedly encouraged employees to embrace “vibe coding” — a growing trend where developers rely heavily on generative AI tools to build software with minimal manual coding. The employee, Nicolas Brilliante, who leads strategic verticals at the company, used AI extensively to develop a…
E-commerce platform Lazada has announced a workforce reduction affecting approximately 5 per cent of its employees across Southeast Asia as part of an organisational restructuring exercise aimed at improving operational efficiency. The company said the move is intended to ensure that its business remains aligned with current priorities and market requirements. While Lazada confirmed that selected roles across the region are being reviewed, it has not disclosed the specific functions or departments impacted by the layoffs. The retrenchment exercise spans Lazada’s operations in six Southeast Asian markets — Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The company stated that…
Engineering giant Larsen & Toubro will invest Rs 18,600 crore in Tamil Nadu under a new agreement signed with the state government, bringing 8,200 jobs across three projects. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formalised on 4 June at the Secretariat. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, along with SN Subrahmanyan, chairman, L&T, Industries Minister S Keerthana, and top officials were present. Officials noted this is the first large industrial MoU since the current administration took charge. A major portion, Rs15,000 crore, will fund a data centre expansion in Kancheepuram district. The facility will focus on hyperscale and edge AI services,…
Oracle has reduced its workforce by 21,000 people in the last year, blaming artificial intelligence (AI) and a broader company overhaul for the cuts. The tech firm revealed the layoffs in its yearly report filed on 22 June, 2026. Employee numbers dropped to 1,41,000 as of 31 May, down 13 per cent from 1,62,000 the year before. Oracle stated in the filing that AI plays a direct role and the adoption and deployment of AI technologies across their operations will continue to result in reductions to their workforce. Oracle spent $1.84 billion on severance and exit costs in fiscal 2026,…
Meta has temporarily suspended its internal AI training programme after an incident reportedly exposed sensitive employee information across the organisation, raising fresh concerns around workplace data privacy and AI-driven monitoring practices. According to reports, the issue allowed access to employee-related information, including private conversations, performance data and meeting transcriptions. The incident was internally classified as a Severity 2 (SEV 2) event, indicating a significant operational concern that required immediate attention. Meta has confirmed the incident and launched an investigation into the matter. The company said the programme had been designed with privacy safeguards and that there is currently no indication…
Mindteck (India) has appointed Rozario Arun Prakash as senior vice president – human resources, effective 1 July, 2026. The appointment was approved by the company’s Board of Directors on 22 June, 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen its people leadership and support business- transformation initiatives. In his new role, Prakash will oversee talent acquisition, HR operations and enterprise transformation, with a focus on building scalable people practices and enhancing organisational effectiveness. Prakash brings over two decades of experience across talent acquisition, HR operations and workforce transformation, having worked across the technology, fintech, e-commerce and global capability-centre sectors. Prior to…
Cloud technology major, Oracle reduced its global workforce by around 13 per cent, or approximately 21,000 employees, during fiscal 2026 as it continued a broad restructuring programme amid shifting business priorities and growing adoption of artificial intelligence across its operations. According to the company’s annual report released this week, Oracle employed 1,41,000 people as of 31 May, 2026, down from nearly 1,62,000 a year earlier. The filing also revealed that the company spent $1.84 billion on severance and other restructuring-related costs during the fiscal year, a sharp increase from $374 million spent in fiscal 2025. The workforce reduction comes after…
The Union Finance Ministry is reportedly preparing a comprehensive overhaul of human resource practices across India’s public sector banking sector. The proposed reforms, spearheaded by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), are expected to impact more than 7.5 lakh employees working across the country’s 12 public-sector banks. At the centre of the proposed changes is a push to bring greater transparency and consistency to employee- management processes. The government is considering the introduction of technology-driven systems to handle annual transfers, reducing manual intervention and making decisions more visible to employees. Public sector lenders have reportedly been encouraged to adopt digital…
FedEx has promoted Rumana Rahman as vice president-human resources, APAC & MEISA, expanding her leadership responsibilities across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, India and Sub-Saharan Africa regions. In her new role, Rahman will lead the HR agenda across APAC and MEISA, focusing on talent management, leadership development, workforce planning, employee experience and organisational capability building. Prior to this appointment, she served as vice president-human resources, APAC, FedEx, providing strategic HR leadership across the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining FedEx, Rahman spent nearly 25 years with British American Tobacco, where she held several senior HR leadership roles. Most recently, she served as regional…