Coforge has appointed Ankur Berry as the new global head-HR of Cigniti Technologies, a firm it acquired. In his new role, Berry will oversee the integration of people across the delivery and practice teams of the combined business unit. Leveraging over two decades of experience in global leadership and HR management, Berry will manage the company’s entire HR portfolio and associated functions. His association with Coforge goes back to 2020, when he joined the company as its VP & global head-HR. In this capacity, he led the HR and transformation efforts for an 8000-strong workforce across India, the Philippines, the…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has appointed Neha Jain as its new group-HR director for Asia, Middle East, Africa, ANZ, and Innovation + Emerging Markets COE. In her new role, Jain will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive people strategy aligned with business objectives. She will also spearhead HR integration, HR technology strategy and HR transformation in these geographies and countries including any M&A due diligence, in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities. Neha Jain has transitioned to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories from GSK, where she served as the general manager and lead-HRBP for Vaccines, Specialty, and Global CEP (Classic and Estd Products). In…
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) registered a historic addition of 19.50 lakh net members in May 2024. This marks the highest increase since the initiation of payroll data reporting in April 2018. This figure reflects a substantial 19.62 per cent surge compared to May 2023. Among the new additions, 9.85 lakh were fresh members, indicating a 10.96 per cent rise from April 2024 and an 11.5 per cent increase from May 2023. A significant majority—over 58 per cent—of these new members fall within the 18-25 age bracket, underscoring the influx of young professionals into the formal workforce. Moreover, 14.09…
The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has rebuked HCL Technologies for its recent policy linking employee leaves to office attendance. Labelling it as ‘unfair’, NITES said it violates Indian labour statutes. HCL Technologies is reportedly introducing a new leave policy where employees’ leave entitlement will be tied to their office attendance. The policy mandates employees to work from the office three days a week and be present at least 12 days a month. Failure to meet these requirements will result in deductions from their leave balance for each day they absent themselves from work. This shift comes as HCL…
TVS Motor Company has significantly bolstered its workforce in response to unprecedented growth in two-wheeler sales and a burgeoning market share in electric vehicles. Over the fiscal year 2023-24, the company added more than 3,300 employees, boosting its total workforce to 16,239 from 12,907 in the previous year. TVS Motor Company’s recruitment efforts in the fiscal year 2023-24 reportedly included about 600 engineers and managers, aligned with strategic focus on future mobility, connected technologies and digital innovation. Additionally, about 1,000 personnel were brought on board to bolster capacities for heightened production volumes, new product introductions and improvements in spares and…
Amdocs, the Israel-based business systems company, is planning to trim its global workforce by five to 10 per cent. This is the second major round of layoffs, after the last one a year ago. At least 1,500 will leave, and the number may even go up to 3,000, but there is no official confirmation of the number of employees impacted. The company’s global workforce strength is about 30,600. The layoff is Amdocs’ way of responding to the challenges thrown up by the business environment. It will continue to invest in innovation and integrate emerging technologies. The workforce trimming is required…
dentsu India has unveiled its groundbreaking Fresher Accelerator Programme (FAP), aimed at shaping recent graduates into industry leaders of tomorrow. This strategic initiative is designed to equip participants with essential skills and expertise crucial for navigating the modern business landscape. The primary aim of the programme is to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical industry demands, offering a comprehensive view across various disciplines within the network. The key programme features include practical, hands-on training through real-world projects, invaluable industry insights, collaborative learning opportunities, and comprehensive development across fundamental advertising industry aspects. The six-month programme begins with a rigorous…
Karnataka’s labour department is proposing an amendment in the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act so that employees of information technology (IT) companies and information technology enabled services (ITeS) companies in Karnataka can work for 14 hours a day. According to the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union, the proposal was mooted in a recent meeting. That means, if the suggestion is implemented and 14 hours of work per day becomes normal, employees in the IT/ITeS space may end up working 70 hours a week. This doesn’t augur well for Bengaluru, which is India’s hub of IT. Presently, the Act permits…
To foster wellbeing, engagement and creativity, Model N has been allowing its employees a dedicated week off every year. The cloud revenue-management solutions company celebrated its fourth consecutive Employee Wellness Week this year. The strategic initiative has successfully enhanced the overall wellbeing and productivity of its global workforce. Gunjandeep Kaur, HR Business Partner, Model N, feels, “By integrating wellness holidays into our benefits programme, Model N has fostered a healthier, more engaged and productive workforce.” This annual Wellness Week has become a big highlight of employee experience, with employees looking forward to it every each year. The dedicated week off…
Tata Digital has made a significant enhancement to employee benefits by integrating Tata Shop Share Smile (TSSS) into the Tata Neu platform. This integration aims to provide Tata Group employees across India with a more streamlined and rewarding shopping experience. Previously, TSSS offered exclusive deals and discounts on Tata products through a separate platform. With the new integration, employees can now access and redeem these discounts directly within the Tata Neu app, simplifying the process significantly. The unified platform allows employees to search for relevant deals and apply TSSS discounts with ease. The integration also enables employees to maximise their…
The Government of Haryana has decided to set aside 10 per cent seats in the police department and the forest department for Agniveers. Henceforth, there will be 10 per cent horizontal reservation for Agniveers when it comes to direct recruitment of constables, mining guards, forest guards, jail wardens and special police officers or SPOs. Chief minister Nayab Saini announced the quota to benefit the youth who complete their four-year training in the Army under the Agnipath Scheme that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had implemented on 14 June, 2022. A relaxation of three years in age will be provided to Agniveers…
Wipro has reiterated its commitment to adhere to the contractual agreements it enters into with its employees. At the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday,18 July, Chairman Rishad Premji stated that while Wipro offers numerous opportunities within the company, employees who find better prospects outside are free to leave. In recent developments, Wipro has sought Rs 25 crore from its former CFO, Jatin Dalal, for breach of contract after he joined Cognizant as CFO immediately after leaving Wipro in November last year. Wipro claimed that Dalal violated conditions that prevented him from working with competitors or recruiting Wipro customers and…
Infisys recently revealed its Q1 results and shared that it will hire 15,000 to 20,000 fresh college graduates in the financial year 2024-2025. This move comes despite a challenging job market. As per media reports, Infosys has shifted to an agile hiring strategy, incorporating both on- and off-campus recruitments. Despite a drop of 2,000 in headcount, which was an improvement over previous quarters, the company noted that it has little headroom left. It highlighted that its current employee utilisation rate is 85 per cent, indicating that most of its workforce is actively engaged in projects. Due to this high utilisation rate,…
On World Youth Skills Day, HDFC Bank ‘Parivartan,’ announced its achievement of engaging over 3,25,000 young individuals across India through its diverse skilling initiatives. The initiative, a cornerstone of the Bank’s CSR efforts under its Parivartan umbrella, focuses on skill development and livelihood enhancement. Currently, the Bank is managing more than 100 projects aimed at addressing skill gaps in critical sectors such as IT/ITeS, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture. World Youth Skills Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, emphasises the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, entrepreneurship, and tackling global challenges. With the…
Gig workers in Karnataka had reason to celebrate when the state government released the draft of the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill-2024. After all, the Bill was aimed at offering significant protection to gig workers employed with food and service aggregators, as it required the latter to register with the Karnataka Labour Department within 60 days of the implementation of the Bill. Indeed, it was to ensure that gig workers got fair contracts and were not laid off unfairly by the aggregators. However, now many gaps are emerging on closer examination of the draft Bill. For…
The fitment exercise at Air India, in the build-up to the merger with Vistara, is about to conclude, and about 300 employees may be rendered jobless as a result. Why? Because these employees were working on fixed-term contracts (FTC) with Air India for the past 10 to 15 years, but were not able to bag any role during the fitment exercise. Therefore, the airline may not renew their service agreements. These employees are all non-flying staff, as reported by PTI. About two days ago, Air India offered two schemes to its non-flying employees. The voluntary retirement scheme or VRS is…
Diageo India (United Spirits), the alco-bev company, has tied up with TSL Foundation, a new-age CSR consultancy and execution organisation, to train 200 young women under its ‘Learning for Life’ programme, at its training centre in Bhondsi, Gurgaon. The training programme will be conducted in collaboration with the Government of Haryana to build awareness to upskill and empower young women. The initiative is in line with Diageo India’s commitment to championing inclusion and diversity, a key pillar of Diageo’s ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ goals. According to Gaurav Singh, additional CEO, Haryana State CSR Trust, Government of Haryana, “This Skill…
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Srinagar has upheld the right of a government employee to maternity leave, for a third time. The Court emphasised that maternity leave is an entitlement that applies regardless of whether the expected child would be her third, considering the distinctive circumstances related to her previous employment status. The decision comes in response to a plea by a teacher from the School Education Department (SED) who was initially denied maternity leave. The authorities had contended that maternity leave was only permissible for the first two children of a female government employee. The teacher’s counsel argued…
Schneider Electric intends to increase its workforce in Ireland by about 10 per cent, over the next two years. With this move, the company aims to hire about 40 new employees. With around 400 engineers, technicians, and electricians currently employed in Ireland, serving industries such as technology and data centres, the company highlights a pressing need for more electricians, field service engineers and skilled technicians. The company specialises in equipment and software that enable businesses and commercial buildings to manage their electricity consumption efficiently. Looking ahead, Schneider Electric aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, leveraging its technology to help…
In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court declared that the principle of “no work, no pay” does not apply to State government employees. The bench in action clarified that this rule applies under Rules 54(2) and 54(4) in Uttar Pradesh. The Court further stated that when employees are reinstated without need for further investigation, they should get their full pay and allowances for the period they were not working. The exact amount depends on whether Rule 54(2) or Rule 54(4) applies to their situation. The case involved a UP Police Follower who had been dismissed after going on an…
Siddhartha Gupta has stepped into the shoes of Arvind Laddha as the president of Mercer India. Till now, Gupta was chief executive officer, Mercer| Mettl. An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) Bhubaneswar, Gupta also holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing management from the Times School of Marketing, and began his professional journey with Compaq Computers. After a year there as executive assistant to the managing director, he was witness to the acquisition of the company by Hewlett Packard (HP). Thereafter, he became account manager at HP, having moved into the southern regional sales team, operating out of Bengaluru.…
Salesforce, a cloud-based software solutions provider, has trimmed its workforce by up to 300 employees this month, that is, July 2024. This reduction is part of a broader effort to streamline operations, optimise its structure and drive growth. The company did not specify which jobs or regions were affected. Interestingly, the company has witnessed significant growth in Africa, particularly in South Africa and Morocco, where AI investments have yielded substantial returns. The company’s expansion in Africa is bolstered by strategic partnerships with firms such as Amazon’s cloud marketplace, extending its reach through collaborations with MTN, Vodacom and Standard Bank. Salesforce’s…
As part of its ambitious expansion plan, Sanofi announced to expand operations and more than double the workforce over the next two years. The company plans to invest €400 million ($437.24 million) in its Global Capacity Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad, India, by the end of the decade. The Hyderabad GCC, already Sanofi’s largest globally, with 1,000 employees, is set to increase its staff to 2,600 by 2026. This expansion will include hiring data scientists and data engineers to enhance the digital team and leverage artificial intelligence tools. Sanofi will initially invest €100 million ($109.31 million) by next year. It operates…
With the Air India-Vistara merger all set to happen, Air India has offered two schemes to its non-flying employees. The voluntary retirement scheme or VRS is open to those permanent non-flying employees who have been with Air India for at least five years. The voluntary separation scheme or VSS, on the other hand, is offered to employees who have not yet completed five years of service with the airline. These schemes do not come as a surprise. The airline’s management had, in recent communications, informed employees about potential job redundancies due to the merger. To mitigate job losses, the Tata…
Considering that Microsoft had set itself a goal of doubling the number of Blacks and African-Americans in its workforce by 2025, the news of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) team being laid off comes as a surprise. The actual number of employees impacted is not known yet, but the contents of a mail, sent by an affected team leader, have grabbed headlines. The team member has expressed his frustration at the hoplessness of the situation. While Microsoft maintained that the DE&I team was dissolved in accordance with “changing business needs”, as reported by Business Insider, the team leader has…
How will FedEx Express skill nearly 400 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students? Well, the subsidiary of FedEx Corp, the express transportation company, has teamed up with Magic Bus India Foundation, an NGO, and created an intensive 75-day curriculum. This will be used to upskill youth in leading-edge cloud computing and allied technologies, along with transferable life and employability skills. In addition to addressing the digital skills gap and employability challenges in India, the programme will prioritise enrolling female graduates from underserved communities in Hyderabad. This initiative is in line with the Indian government’s mission to nurture tech talent…