In the process of doing away with five layers of management, Citi’s management layers have been reduced to eight, from the previous 13. The Bank is simplifying its processes and looking at improving efficiency and saving costs in the long run. In doing so, it has so far let go 7,000 people, and this is only the first phase of the trimming process. While earlier the bank was expected to do away with about 5,000 jobs, it seems to have cut at least 2,000 more roles than was decided. Since the plan was to do away with 20,000 jobs by…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Arun Kumar Singh has been appointed head-human resources, Shriram General Insurance. Earlier, he was general manager-HR/IR/admin, Vinayak Jewels, since 2022. Singh has spent over nine years of his professional career at Reliance Industries, where he served as head-human resources (HRBP) from 2006 to 2015, based out of Mumbai. There, he looked into human resource management, recruitment, training, employee development, employee engagement, team management, event management, IR&PR issues, Liaison and so on. For over three years after that, he freelanced as an HR consultant and policy advisor, based out of Jaipur. He joined JCPL, as head-HR, in December 2018. He headed…
Santosh Rai is now head-human resources, Larsen & Toubro Precision Engineering and Systems IC. He will be based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Till now he was joint general manager –HR, L&T Defence. For more than two and a half years, he was responsible for managing the HR function for the defence business. In this role, he was formulating HR strategy, change management and strategy deployment to build and nurture winning teams. Rai’s association with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) began in 1998, when he joined as a fresher in the cement division. By the time he left, almost seven years later,…
Nvidia, the chip making firm, is sharing its profits with its employees and how! It is giving its employees a special one-time grant of additional 25 per cent of stock units they were given on joining the firm. This is being aptly called the ‘special Jensen grant’, after Jensen Huang, CEO, Nvidia. The stock has grown, thanks to the demand for artificial intelligence (AI). With the demand for Nvidia’s chips surging, the company that works in the area of AI and digital twins to transform the industries of the world, has become the first chip manufacturer to touch a market cap…
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), disclosed its contemplation of conducting a comprehensive survey involving every Boeing employee to assess the company’s safety culture. This announcement came during a meeting with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The NTSB is currently investigating an incident where a door plug fell off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 in January. They found that the plane, delivered only 66 days earlier, was missing important bolts from the factory. The board highlighted that everyone at Boeing, including top executives, wants to figure out what went wrong and fix it. They may…
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a modest improvement in employee retention for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2024. The attrition rate dipped to 12.5 per cent, a slight decline from 13.1 per cent in the previous quarter. However, the company’s overall headcount witnessed a marginal contraction, falling from 603,305 at the end of December 2023 to 601,546 at the close of Q4. This news coincided with the company’s announcement of its fourth-quarter results on April 12, 2024. TCS reported a net profit of ?12,434 crore, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent. Milind Lakkad, chief HR officer, credited…
In a recent ruling, the division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court emphasised that the state cannot unjustly deprive any employee of their entitlements. Underlining the state’s duty as a welfare provider, the court deemed the special appeal as an “abuse of process” and levied a fine of Rs 50,000 on the state government. The decision comes in response to a special appeal filed by the state regarding pension benefits for a government employee. The petitioner, Prakash Chandra Harbola, retired from the position of executive officer of Mahua Dabra Nagar Panchayat in Udham Singh Nagar district in 2015, following nearly…
Swiggy, the online food- delivery platform, has announced a new initiative to support its employees in their journey of pet care and adoption. Dubbed the ‘Paw-ternity’ policy, this programme aims to provide comprehensive assistance to pet parents within the company. This inclusive approach includes significant paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers, along with provisions for bonding time, adoption, surrogacy and support for experiences such as miscarriage and IVF. The ‘Paw-ternity Policy’ will be available for all its full-time employees. Under this innovative policy, employees will enjoy an extra paid day off, separate from their annual leave entitlement, to welcome…
With an aim to foster a healthier work-life balance for employees, a Chinese company has come up with a refreshing move. The company has introduced a novel concept called “unhappy leaves.” Yu Donglai, founder and chairman, Pang Dong Lai, a retail chain based in Central China’s Henan province, unveiled this initiative during China Supermarket Week 2024 in late March. Under this scheme, employees are empowered to request an additional 10 days of leave at their discretion. At the heart of this initiative lies the company’s belief in granting every individual the freedom to navigate their own happiness. The core essence…
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has unveiled an expansive buyback initiative for its employees beyond US borders. The company is offering its global employees an opportunity to sell their shares at around $171 each. The latest offer, priced at $170.81 per share, allows non-US employees to sell half of their vested stock units, with provisions for additional sales after a year. Share awards in lieu of cash bonuses become eligible for sale one year after vesting, according to the documents. Addressing a global audience of staff, ByteDance, acknowledged the need of some employees to address their cash and liquidity…
TikTok, the video-streaming platform, has announced to let go of over 250 employees in Ireland today, 12 April, 2024. This move follows reports from February indicating the company’s intention to reduce up to 300 jobs in Ireland as part of a company-wide restructuring. Initially, TikTok attributed the job losses to a “redesign” of its training and quality team, aimed at improving quality- assurance processes. The company stressed the importance of supporting affected employees during this transition, underlining Ireland’s significance as a base for its operations and ongoing hiring efforts. However, despite TikTok’s assurances, several impacted employees have voiced dissatisfaction with…
Anmol Industries, an FMCG brand, has appointed Abhijit Chakraborty as its chief human resources officer (CHRO). In this capacity, Chakraborty will shoulder the responsibility of steering a team comprising over 30 HR professionals. He’ll be responsible for the welfare of more than 5000 employees, encompassing both full-time and contractual roles across various business functions. Chakraborty transitions to Anmol Industries from his previous role as the HR head for the East Zone at Bajaj Allianz, where he served diligently for four years, from 2020 to 2024. With a rich tapestry of experience spanning over 18 years in HR, Chakraborty brings a…
[24]7.ai, a provider of digital business services and Customer Experience (CX) products and solutions, has elevated Nina Nair to chief human resource officer (CHRO) for its Global BPO business. In this new role, Nair will take on the responsibility of overseeing all aspects of personnel management for the BPO business. Her focus will be on advancing HR technology, identifying and nurturing promising talent, managing succession planning, supporting projects to enhance effectiveness for Generation AI, ensuring proper governance of HRD processes, and promoting a cohesive culture at [24]7.ai. Nair’s association with the company goes back 2003, when she first joined as…
The COVID-19 lockdown compelled managers to lead teams from their homes, sparking initial anxiety. Yet, employees swiftly adapted to this new working model. While remote work became the norm for many companies, some, such as Dell, initiated a return-to-office policy in March, stirring controversy. Allegedly, Dell conveyed through corporate memos that only employees opting for hybrid or remote arrangements would face restrictions on promotions and role changes, setting off a debate. While this announcement may seem discriminatory on the surface, it sheds light on broader challenges remote workers may face. These are issues that are already subtly present in many…
Levi Strauss, also called Levi’s, is implementing job cuts at its European headquarters in Michelin, Belgium. As reported by a daily, the decision follows the earlier announcement made by the US fashion brand about slashing 10 to 15 per cent of its global workforce in January 2024. The European headquarters will bid farewell to 42 employees out of its approximately 250-strong workforce. The retail staff, however, will remain unaffected by the restructuring. According to a staff member, the initial phase of the Renault Act procedure—a Belgian labour law governing mass layoffs—has already been executed last week. These developments coincide with…
ExlService Holdings, a US-based digital services provider, is undergoing restructuring, resulting in the layoff of approximately 800 employees. The decision will impact about two percent of its workforce in both the US and India. The move comes as the company is adapting its operations to meet the growing demand for generative artificial intelligence among its customer base, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Of the 800 affected employees, 400 will be terminated from their positions, while the remaining 400 will be given the opportunity to seek re-employment elsewhere within the company. Primarily, the junior staff members working in data…
Hemika Tanwar has been appointed chief people officer, Invest4Edu. About two years ago, Tanwar was briefly associated with Invest Value Fintech and Invest4Edu for seven months, in 2022, as lead human resources, based out of Gurugram. Tanwar, who holds an MBA in human resources and service operations, from ITM Group of Institutions, began her professional journey with IIFL as a human resource coordinator in 2013. By March 2015, she had been elevated to the position of human resource manager-recruitment and employee engagement. For the next one year and ten months, she was handling business HR for the retail broking business,…
About 680 people will be rendered jobless at Novartis’ offices in the US and Switzerland. While 440 roles will be eliminated in Switzerland over the next couple of years, 240 roles will be axed in the US. The Swiss pharmaceuticals firm is looking to trim its development organisation by about 14 per cent. The development division, which is presently 12,500 strong, is responsible for supplying its drugs to the market and also looking after quality assurance, drug regulations and so on. About 3,000 members of the development division are presently working out of Switzerland, while 2,000 are based out of…
On 13 April 2024, Tata Electronics is planning to hold a roadshow in Hsinchu, a county in Taiwan. The Group is establishing a plant in India to manufacture semiconductors and chips, for which it is seeking quality talent from Taiwan. Given the fact that Taiwan’s supplies meet the demand for chips and semiconductors for over half of the world, finding talent from there should not be difficult. As per a Moneycontrol report, the Tata Group is looking for Taiwanese professionals— including equipment engineers, yield engineers and automation engineers—with at least five years of experience. Candidates with up to 16 years…
Nimrata Randhawa Kapoor has taken on the role of chief human resources officer (CHRO), Plaksha University. Prior to this, Kapoor was running her own HR advisory for over nine years. An alumna of XLRI Jamshedpur, Kapoor holds a BA (Hons) degree in Math from MMV, Banaras Hindu University. Kapoor began her career at Reliance Industries as an HR generalist, in the year 1998. For two years at Reliance, she managed 400 people in treasury, finance, excise and procurement functions. In 1999, she was elevated to the role of executive assistant-HR and reported to Mukesh Ambani, till May 2000. She joined…
Nisha Popli has been appointed as the new head-human resources, at Tata Trusts, effective 1 April 2024. Prior to this, she was associated with Cuemath, an online learning platform, as its chief human resources officer (CHRO). She joined Cuemath in the year 2021. In the initial years of her career, Popli worked as the executive-HR with EY, based out of New Delhi. Three years into this role, in 2006, she moved to Grand Thornton India, as manager-HR. In this capacity, she spearheaded the company’s strategic and functional responsibilities for all the HR disciplines across India. Her key responsibilities include policy…
After a successful tenure of over two and a half years, as head of human resources, at Arcolab, Priyanka Kulkarni has now joined Kraft Heinz as HR head. Having completed MSc in Psychology from Annamalai University, in 2009, Kulkarni obtained an MBA in e-business and human resources, from Welingkar Institute of Management before beginning her professional journey with Piramal Enterprises, as manager-HR. In 2007, she joined BIGAnimation as manager-HR for a year and four months. Her next stop was Credit Suisse, where she was HR business advisor, for a little less than two years, based out of Pune. The year…
Google’s once freewheeling internal message board, Memegen, is undergoing a change. The platform, a haven for employee memes and commentary for over a decade, is being reshaped in response to rising tensions, particularly surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was reported by The New York Times. The most notable change is the removal of the thumbs-down button. Previously, memes garnered visibility through upvotes, while downvotes relegated them to obscurity. This system, according to Google, fostered a ‘bullying tactic’ of coordinated downvoting. Additionally, popularity metrics tracking meme performance are also being discarded. Google maintains these changes stem from employee feedback. The company…
Novo Nordisk Global Business Services (GBS) is implementing two initiatives aimed at enhancing employee well-being: The Flamingo Programme and the WECare Flexible Benefits Programme. These programmes underscore the company’s commitment to fostering a supportive and holistic work environment. The Flamingo Programme caters specifically to new mothers, offering extended maternity leave options, personalised transportation solutions, mentorship through the Amigo programme, and a well-equipped lactation room. The WECare programme, on the other hand, empowers employees to curate their own well-being journeys. With an annual budget of Rs 50,000 per employee, the programme offers a diverse selection of benefits including fitness memberships, work-from-home…
Cognizant, a leading global IT services provider, has pushed back its annual salary increases for this year by four months. The latest salary raise will be implemented in August, which were last granted in April. The delay aligns with a period of subdued demand in the software services industry, attributed to budget constraints among clients amidst macroeconomic uncertainties. However, the company expressed its commitment to recognise its employees’ efforts through merit increases and bonuses. The company highlighted that the majority of associates have received four merit increases within three years, with the most recent cycle in April 2023. The company…
The Edtech firm, Byju’s has finally initiated salary payments after a two-month delay. The decision comes amidst hurdles faced by the company in accessing funds from a recent rights issue. In a message addressed to its employees, the company informed them about the salary disbursement. It also revealed that the same will be completed over the next 10 days. The conflict over Byju’s rights issue stems from a directive by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It mandated the company to place the proceeds from the rights issue in an escrow account until the resolution of a plea filed by…