Tata Steel is considering slashing about 1200 jobs in Europe in a bid to increase profits. The steel manufacturing company, which has about 20,000 employees in Europe, is endeavouring to improve its financial situation and business performance. Last year, the Company had announced 3,000 job cuts across Europe in November, and had also clarified that it has no intention to replace the retired staff or those who left. At that time, it was revealed that about two-thirds of the cuts were to be white-collar roles. However, Tata Steel has been trying to come up with ways to reduce job losses…
Author: HRK News Bureau
With the number of COVID-19 cases rising in Pune, employees of many organisations in the Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park in Hinjewadi have been allowed to work from home. Also, two IT companies in Magarpatta and Hinjewadi, respectively have evacuated their premises after an employee in each of them showed symptoms of infection. Some floors have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. Almost three lakh people travel to Hinjewadi daily to work in the offices situated in the IT park. Infosys and TCS have been closely monitoring its employees and are taking all possible measures to protect their workforces. Two people…
A study by India’s leading tech-powered HR platform, OLX People, revealed that the top job function, which saw maximum demand for jobs this year, was logistics, followed by sales and customer service. The study is in line with the Indian logistics sector’s booming growth, with a billion dollars being pumped into it by private investors in 2019 alone. As per OLX People, jobs in the logistics vertical have seen the maximum growth on the platform, driven by the logistics outsourcing need of e-commerce companies, infrastructure development, boost in government policies, and advancement of technologies. This has also been a result…
On March 10, 2020, Unilever announced that it has made outstanding progress in the context of equalising gender pay. This was reported close to International Women’s Day as Unilever hit a milestone after a long-term campaign and commitment to achieve greater women’s representation and equity in gender pay. The FMCG Company, headquartered in London, has reported that women now make up 50 per cent of the management globally. This figure is a 12 per cent rise since 2010. Unilever has been able to increase the count of women employees by overcoming stereotypes and hiring women in jobs that were historically…
The Government in Sikkim has decided to do away with the practice of a five-day work week for staff of government and public-sector units. With effect from April 1, in addition to Sundays, only the second and fourth Saturdays will be holidays for government staff. In May last year, the five-day work week was announced with the aim of improving the quality of life of government employees, and allowing them time to take care of their families’ and their own health. It was one of the election promises made by the government. However, it was observed that the reduced working…
India Inc. is not only making employees aware of ways to check transmission of coronavirus, but most have allowed employees to work from home for some time. In Chennai, offices have begun screening staff as well as visitors entering their premises. Till now, one individual has tested positive for the virus, and is being treated in quarantine, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. Thermal screening machines have been set up in many offices, while others are diligently monitoring the body temperatures of their employees. Several information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES) companies in Chennai, especially those situated…
Software company, Icertis, has appointed Pranali Save as chief human resources officer (CHRO). Save, will be responsible for implementing innovative global strategies to accelerate recruitment of quality talent, nurture the organisation’s culture and also execute the employee-development programmes founded on the values of fairness, openness, respect, teamwork and execution — FORTE. Before joining Icertis — which provides contract management software to enterprise businesses — Save was working with Tieto, as director and head-HR, India, and global HR partner for Tieto Centres of Excellence. She spent almost nine years with the IT service company. In her long and successful career, Save…
The sixth National Learning & Development Summit platformed sessions in which industry and human resource experts from different sectors, such as IT, F&B, banking, and education, brainstormed on various subjects. The topics discussed included the creation of a new learning and development (L&D) platform that can be leveraged to a company’s advantage, and the correct way to cultivate purpose, values and social connections. In addition, the art of rightfully developing full-stack employees and the L&D perspective on ‘Man VS Machine’ and ‘Man & Machine’ in the new human era were also discussed. Organised by the National Human Resource Development Network (NHRDN),…
In collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management-Bengaluru, National Instruction and Media Institute (NIMI) and State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), the Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Mahendra Nath Pandey, on March 8, launched a pilot version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship programme. The Fellowship is a two-year programme combining classroom sessions with an intensive field immersion at the district level. The goal is to identify barriers in raising employment and economic output, and also promote livelihoods in rural areas, to strengthen the rural employment ecosystem. Out of the 74 total fellows selected, 32 are women. A…
Technology, data, employee experience: What’s high on agenda Technology, as it will continue to disrupt industries across domains. However, digitalisation may make life simpler. Every sector of the economy is getting impacted by digitalisation. This means, the HR fraternity has to anticipate the technologies impacting their industry and strategise how to cope with it. The other agenda for companies will be skill development. On one hand, employees will experience disruption in their careers and their lives, and they should be ready to adapt to change faster than they can imagine. On the other hand, skills required for the future…
Abhimanyu Sen, who is currently the senior general manager and HR Head at Mahindra & Mahindra, will be taking charge of human resources for the new joint venture between Ford and Mahindra from April 1. With over 17 years of experience across industry verticals and geographies, with specialisation in business partnering, partnering, performance and talent management, as well as learning and development. Along with Sen, Pankaj Sonalkar will take over as the chief of operations, while Sachin Arolkar will take over finances. Mahindra’s current head of strategic sourcing, Raghu Veeraraghavan, will continue sourcing for the new venture. Prior to Mahindra,…
Bank of Baroda has taken precautionary steps to ensure that its employees, as well as its customers and those visiting its branches and offices, within India and abroad, remain safe and protected from COVID 19. The Bank has done away with the biometric attendance and Wave Towers to prevent the virus. All its corporate as well as head offices, zonal offices and branches, have been stocked with general medicines, such as paracetamol and aspirin and face masks. The Bank is also promoting regular use of sanitisers among all staff members and even customers entering the Bank’s branches. Employees who have…
In this week of #NoticeBoard, brought to you by HRKatha, Abhijit Bhaduri talks about how the industry and the business is getting affected by the #Coronavirus; book review of Bimal Rath’s The Middle Muddle, the importance of marketing through TikTok, Obituary on Jack Welch, chairman and CEO of General Electric and also the latest edition of HRKatha Print Magazine. #NoticeBoard is HRKatha’s weekly broadcast on the latest news and trends in the HR industry. | Our host Abhijit Bhaduri is one of the most followed influencers on Talent Management and the Future of Work.
International Women’s Day was celebrated in the most unique manner by the Salem Division of Southern Railway. The Train no. 22666 Coimbatore KSR Bengaluru UDAY Express was completely run by an all women crew from the Salem Division on 8 March, 2020. All aspects of the operation, were handled by women. In other words, the loco pilot, guards, as well as ticket examiners in the train were women. The train left Coimbatore station at 5.40 am. When the crew arrived at Salem, they were welcomed and honoured by the senior divisional finance manager, Salem, who distributed sweets to them. The…
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur, has managed to get all its students placed, with one being offered a salary package of Rs 40 lakh per annum. This was the highest package bagged this year. The highest domestic package offered has also doubled this year, to Rs 40 lakh per annum, from Rs 20 lakh last year. The average salary package was Rs 13.10 lakh. Not only was the size of the graduating batch double that of the previous batch, the process of recruitment has also become more competitive, with more pre-placement offers being made, and higher packages being…
Two hospitals in Pune, Bharati Hospital and King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital have made their service inclusive for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community. The objective is to ensure that the members of the community are provided a safe and comfortable environment in which to access healthcare services. An LGBTQI clinic has already become functional at Bharati Hospital, which has also designed a protocol to assess individuals who require help, medical as well as psychological. Bharati Hospital has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samapathik Trust for referrals to the Psychiatry department and SRS…
IIM Shillong recently completed its summer placements for its 2019-21 Post Graduate Programme (PGP) batch. The highest stipend offered to the batch stood at 3 lakhs which is the same as the 2018-20 batch. The average stood at 1.31 lakhs. Prominent recruiters, such as Aditya Birla Group, Bajaj Finserv, Cognizant, HSBC, ICICI, Tata Steel, D E Shaw, Goldman Sachs, Google, GroupM, Fidelity Investments and Nomura Invest Bank. Among the first time recruiters were ABFRL, Bain Capability Network, Boston Consulting Group, Dalmia Cement, Deloitte India, Future Generali, IBM, Niine, Ninjacart, OLA Cabs, Pepsico, Qwixpert, Raam Group, Reliance Industries Limited and TATA…
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation announced its plan to reduce interest on provident fund for the current fiscal year, 2019-2020. The plan is to reduce the interest by 0.15 per cent as the PF interest rate for 2018-2019 was 8.65 per cent. Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar reported that the interest rate has been cut, and brought down to 8.50 per cent. Since the savings of over six crore employees is in question, the same has to be approved by the Finance Ministry of India. The Central Board of trustees comprising many employers and employees met the Labour Minister and a…
Technology, data, employee experience: What’s high on the agenda India has been churning out Unicorns at an unprecedented pace. Global tech companies are emerging from this country. The year 2020 will continue to be a year of focussed execution and innovation. People are at the heart of making this happen. Therefore, for me, it is the employee experience and engagement that will remain high on the agenda. The approach will be to: Connect people with the vision of the organisation, through regular and effective communication. In the digital product industry, this is an ongoing effort as a significant part of…
Apollo Tyres is planning to slash about 750 jobs at its plant in the Netherlands, by 2022. The job cuts are aimed at ensuring that the business is sustainable and the focus remains on production of high-value tyres only. The Indian tyre manufacturing company had acquired Vredestein Banden BV (VBBV) in 2009 from Russia’s Amtel-Vredestein NV, when the latter had gone bankrupt. Apollo Vredestein BV (AVBV) has discussed the Enschede plant’s future with its employees and conveyed to them the plans to establish a more sustainable business in the Netherlands. The employees have been told that AVBV wishes to focus…
India Inc. is taking precautions to keep employees safe. While Cognizant has shut its office in Hyderabad, and asked its employees to work from home, Zoho Corp. in Chennai has also done the same. Cognizant’s Hyderabad office happens to be in Raheja Mindspace, the IT park where an employee from one of the offices in the same building had tested positive for the virus recently. As a precautionary measure, Cognizant has closed its office for disinfection and sanitisation. In Chennai, Zoho Corp. employees will also be working from home, even though no cases of COVID-19 have been found in any…
IIM Indore just completed its final placements for its 2019-20 post-graduate programme (PGP) batch and for its five year integrated programme (IPM) batch. This year, the highest domestic salary offered stood at INR 50 LPA. Compared to last year’s highest offer within the country, which stood at 40.50 LPA, this year saw a 23.5 per cent increase in total salary. Almost 160 recruiters participated in this year’s placements, including several new comers and serial recruiters who participate almost every year. Over 45 new recruiters participated in this year’s campus hiring. Among the regulars were Accenture, Aditya Birla Group, CRISIL, and…
Technology, data, employee experience: What’s high on agenda I would consider employee experience as high on the agenda, and technology and data will just be the enablers. If organisations are unable to create a highly engaging workplace and experience for employees, they will find it challenging to retain talent. The gig workers look for overall experience rather than just any job, as they have plenty of choices. The last couple of years have seen quite a hype around artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and their application in the HR function. I sense the same will continue in…
Nokia, the telecom network equipment manufacturer, will be laying off up to 148 employees in Finland. However, it will not touch those working in the 5G development operations. In January, Nokia had revealed its intention to slash about 180 jobs in Finland, but reduced the number after negotiating with the workforce. The Company had shared that its 5G product development in the country will continue, and the associated employees will not be laid off. Nokia has about 6000 employees in Finland. It had recruited about 370 last year. Recently, Nokia hired back Pekka Lundmark, who had earlier left to join…
An employee of Intel, Bengaluru, has been placed under quarantine as he has “potentially been exposed to” COVID-19. While travel has been restricted for the employees of Intel, the workplace is being sanitised continuously, and work-from-home is being encouraged. Not only are the members of the workforce being guided on ways of keeping themselves safe and informed, visitors to the office are also being screened. Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, an employee of global science-based company, DSM Shared Services, has been diagnosed with Covid-19. This is the second case of infection detected in the state. The first person who tested positive is…
On the 3 March, 2020, the Government gave an order to implement ‘no work, no pay for employees’ participating in the Uttarakhand General-OBC Employees Association strike, in order to dissuade them from continuing their agitation. The chief secretary of state has further declared that any employee found to be taking leave without any valid reason will be considered to be involved in the strike, following which they will face the same consequences. More than 1,65,000 employees have been on an indefinite strike since 2 March, demanding that there should be no reservation in promotions in the Government and that such…