In an attempt to prolong its financial stability, Toothsi, a dental technology start up, has recently terminated the employment of around 20 to 30 staff members. As per some media reports, the company is currently facing challenges in securing new funding, making it crucial for them to overcome this funding shortfall. In May 2022, Toothsi successfully secured $40 million in funding from various investors, including several prominent figures such as veteran banker Aditya Puri, Eight Roads Ventures, Paramark, and IIFL. Furthermore, the company obtained an additional $9 million through a venture debt round from Stride Ventures earlier this year. In…
Author: HRK News Bureau
Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital has appointed Ramanathan V as chief human resources officer. Ramanthan has moved from United Breweries, a Heineken Group Company, where he was head – talent management and commercial HR for over a year. An alumnus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Ramanathan is also an engineering graduate from Bharath Institute of Science and Technology, from where he studied electronics and communication. At the start of his career, Ramanathan worked as a software engineer with Thinksoft Global Services in 2004, for less than a year. He then interned with Deutsche Bank, before being absorbed as a…
A Supreme Court (SC) bench led by justice AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli, on 12 May, addressed the issue of sexual harassment of women at the workplace and found major lapses in the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, commonly known as the PoSH Act. Enacted in 2013, the Act was meant to safeguard women from sexual abuse. The main goal of the Act is to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment at the workplace. Usually, women hesitate to register their complaints and quit their jobs instead, which results in lower women’s…
Air India Express, the budget international airline, has been hiring recently. In fact, it has already brought on board about 280 pilots and 250 cabin crew, via recruitment drives across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. The carrier, which will soon be integrating AirAsia into it, has received a huge response from candidates. Over the past few days, recruitment drives have taken place across Kozhikode in Kerala, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Imphal in Manipur, Guwahati in Assam, Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and even Mangalore in Karnataka in addition to all the metros. With Go First having collapsed, many pilots and crew…
The spotlight is on the pathetic working and living conditions of the constables of Delhi Police, thanks to an eight-year old lawsuit. The case was filed by Head Constable Babu Lal Mitharwal, in 2015, challenging the provisions of Section 22 of the Police Act, 1861, and Section 24 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978. In fact, in 2015, there was even a Delhi Police order that policemen should not leave the station even at night. Mitharwal claimed that these statutory provisions appeared to state that police officers “shall be assumed to be on duty for 24 hours”, and using this…
Morgan Stanley is contemplating a 7 per cent reduction in its investment banking workforce in the Asia-Pacific region. As per media sources, the decision is influenced by strained relations with the US and a decline in economic growth, which have dampened deal making activities. As early as this week, the bank is expected to initiate discussions with affected bankers, potentially putting over 40 jobs at risk, including those within the capital markets unit. It’s not yet clear on the exact number of jobs cuts, but it’s being said that roles in China would be the most affected. Previously, following a…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commend the revamped recruitment system. He will speak at the National Rozgar Mela through a video link; he is about to distribute approximately 71,000 appointment letters to newly hired government personnel. In the current fiscal year, the budget has dedicated a substantial amount of Rs 10 trillion towards capital expenditure, marking a significant investment in infrastructure development. This strategic allocation has played a pivotal role in fostering the creation of modern and advanced infrastructure across the country. The construction of new roads, bridges, railways, airports, and other crucial facilities has not only enhanced connectivity and…
P&G Health India is celebrating Mother’s Day by introducing groundbreaking caregiving policies for its employees. The company recognises the invaluable contribution of all caregivers and aims to provide comprehensive support to employees who care for children with special needs (up to 18 years old). This pioneering policy includes enhanced medical coverage encompassing hospitalisation programs and specialised treatments for neurodevelopmental and physical disabilities. It covers diagnosis, treatment, consultations, devices, medicines, and day-care support. Additionally, P&G Health India has introduced a co-pay India Day Care Policy, allowing employees with children aged 6 months to 6 years to enrol their children in recognised…
In order to promote a positive work environment, the state government has allowed the consumption of alcohol in corporate offices. The policy is applicable from 12 June 2023, and will specifically allow the “moderate” consumption of alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine. To be able to enjoy this new liquor policy there are some criteria that corporate offices need to fulfill. For instance, they need to have more than 5000 employees and the office should cover an area of around one lakh square feet in terms of single premises. The L-10F licence will be granted to corporate offices where the…
X Corporation, the parent company of Twitter, has acquired Laskie, a tech hiring platform. This is the company’s first ever acquisition after Musk has taken over. Now with the help of Laskie, Musk aims to transform Twitter into an all-encompassing ‘everything app’. No formal statement has been made by officials, however Bloomberg confirmed the news citing an anonymous media source. It also mentioned that a deal, that involved a combination of equity and cash, was reportedly finalised recently. Additionally, following the acquisition news, Laskie’s website has been replaced with a blank page stating that the platform is no longer accessible…
According to recent reports, Amazon has laid off approximately 500 employees in India across departments such as web services, human resources, and support. These job cuts are part of a larger downsizing effort announced by Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, back in March, which is projected to impact around 9,000 employees overall. The process of layoffs is still ongoing, and the majority of affected employees come from the aforementioned departments. It’s worth noting that some of these individuals are part of Amazon’s global teams that operate from India. In a communication to the staff, the CEO mentioned that the decision to…
Vodafone has recently on-boarded its new CEO, Margherita Della Valle, and right after the appointment the company has announced its plans to streamline its strategies. Amid this restructuring, the telecommunication giant has announced that they’ll be cutting their staff by 11,000 employees. The reduction will happen over a period of the next three years. The recent restructuring is believed to be one of the largest layoffs in the telecom industry. However, the decision is said to be taken in pursuit of a ‘simpler’ organisational structure, as the company anticipates little to no earnings growth in the upcoming financial year. As…
Google has recently made the decision to reduce its contract workforce responsible for providing support to YouTube TV and managing tasks related to YouTube’s social media accounts, according to a report. The affected workers, who are primarily employed by Cognizant, were informed of the cuts at the beginning of May, and their employment is set to terminate gradually between May 31 and the end of July. The number of workers impacted by these changes has not been explicitly specified. However, estimations suggest that around 120 to 150 Accenture workers may also be affected by these layoffs. Notably, the timing of…
Raheja QBE General Insurance Company has announced the appointment of Rajeev Dogra as the new managing director & chief executive officer following regulatory approval from insurance regulatory and development authority of India. With a career spanning over three decades, Dogra brings with him a wealth of experience in insurance operations, in-depth industry knowledge, great networking skills, and exemplary leadership qualities. Moreover, he has demonstrated outstanding efforts in operational resilience, led effective turnarounds, set up and grown new businesses. Taking over the helm, Dogra, managing director & CEO, Raheja QBE General Insurance Company said, “I am honoured and elated to take…
A former employee of a UK-based company has recently filed a lawsuit against his former employer, claiming that he was not compensated for his services. The case involves an employee who alleges non-payment for his work in training an AI language model. It highlights the need for fair compensation in emerging fields like AI and raises concerns about the potential exploitation of individuals involved in the development and training of such models. The case is also connected to the adoption of AI language models, which are increasingly being utilised in different fields, however, it is crucial to contemplate the ethical…
India’s top IT services companies are reconsidering their recruitment approaches to give priority to hiring locals in crucial markets such as the United States. This shift is driven by mounting frustration caused by prolonged wait times for work visas. In response to this situation, companies such as Wipro are focusing on building a talent pool that is geographically diverse and reducing their reliance on H1-B visas. Traditionally, IT companies have deployed a substantial portion of their workforce overseas while gradually increasing local hiring. However, the rising delays in obtaining work visas have prompted these firms to rethink their approach. The…
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a new rule that requires pilots (commanders) to serve a year’s notice period before quitting, while first officers are required to fulfil a notice period of six months. If they fail to service this notice period before moving on, it will be considered as acting against public interest, as it may result in flight cancellations and harassed passengers being put through a lot of inconvenience. The new rule has come as a rude shock to pilots, especially the cockpit crew of Go First, the budget airline that has recently sought voluntary…
Government employees in Kerala who have children with special needs, can now seek relaxation in working hours for a maximum of 16 hours in total, in a month. That means, parents of children with autistic disorders, multiple disabilities, mental retardation or cerebral palsy, who are working for the Kerala government, can now avail of relaxed working hours so that they can attend to the needs of their special children better. The state cabinet has decided that one such state government employee can avail not more than 16 hours of such relaxation in a month. In a report submitted to the…
Borzo, a global delivery service, has launched a new referral programme for its delivery partners, which allows them to earn monetary rewards on referring and inviting new delivery partners to the platform. The delivery partner can use the Borzo app to refer friends by sharing their unique referral code visible on their profile. Within seven days of a new delivery partner signing up using this unique code and completing the first delivery, the referring partner will receive 100 bonus points. Once the new partner completes five deliveries, the referring partner will receive an additional 400 bonus points within the next…
Amazon India has recently conducted a new round of layoffs that have affected employees working across its Web Services (AWS) and people experience and technology solutions (PXT) divisions. The current round of layoffs will impact approximately 400-500 employees. As per the media reports, the ongoing downsizing at Amazon India is connected to the layoffs announcement made by Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon, in March. Jassy had revealed plans to impact around 9,000 employees with these layoffs and now the affected individuals within the Indian teams are being informed about their job terminations. It has been reported that the e-commerce giant has…
In the past 15 months, SoftBank’s investee companies in India have adopted a ‘total defence’ approach to combat the funding slowdown. These startups have implemented cost-cutting measures, reducing costs by 50-75 percent to extend their runway by at least 12 months. They have laid off employees, reduced benefits, and cut expenses like advertising. SoftBank itself has taken a highly conservative strategy, cutting investments by over 90 percent between April 2022 and March 2023. It has not invested in any Indian company since July 2022. This approach has helped SoftBank’s portfolio companies navigate the funding downturn, with 94 per cent of…
As part of two employee-related schemes, IT giant Infosys has recently granted over 5.11 lakh equity shares to eligible employees. This share allotment aims to enhance employees’ ownership in the company and serves as a gesture of appreciation for their outstanding performance. According to Infosys’ filing with the exchange on May 14, the company confirmed the allotment of 5,11,862 equity shares on May 12, 2023. These shares were issued in response to the exercise of restricted stock units by eligible employees. Out of the total shares allocated, 1,04,335 equity shares were assigned under the 2015 stock incentive compensation plan, and…
Happay Under a restructuring plan, Happay, a corporate expense management platform owned by CRED, has let go of 35 per cent of its workforce. The decision is said to impact 160 employees across departments such as sales, marketing, tech, product, and operations. Happay was founded in 2012 by Anshul Rai and Varun Rathi and currently employs over 450 individuals. As per media reports, the company, which facilitates credit card bill payments, is providing three months’ salary to the affected employees, along with an extension of insurance coverage and additional benefits. Happay functions as a separate entity, but sometimes collaborates with…
Central government employees are eagerly anticipating a significant boost in their pay starting from July, as their salaries are expected to experience a notable increase. This upward trajectory can be attributed to the implementation of the 7th central pay commission (CPC) in 2016, which resulted in a substantial rise in the minimum wage for employees. Building upon this foundation, another substantial increase in wages is anticipated in the near future. Regarding the specific figures, recent reports indicate that there is a high likelihood of a 4 percent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) in July of this year. Currently, the…
Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, expressed its disappointment over the union’s decision to go on strike but remains committed to finding a resolution that benefits all parties involved. Despite the lack of a formal agreement, the company has presented a plan to continue serving its customers during this period. During the strike, union representatives were reportedly working hard to ensure that the rights and interests of the employees were protected. One notable incident involved union representatives making phone calls to secure insurance coverage for a union member, moments before his wife delivered a baby. This…
An employee of IBM, working as an IT specialist, has been on sick leave since 2008. As per the health plan offered by the company, the said employee whose name is Ian Clifford, enjoys over Rs 55,30,556 annually, and will continue to receive it till the age of 65. Yet, the employee is not satisfied. He is accusing IBM of discriminating against him because of his disability, by not giving him a raise in the past 15 years that he has been home! In fact, he has taken IBM to court. Interestingly, Clifford’s LinkedIn profile says he has been ‘medically…