Human Resource Community

According to media reports, the government employees under the 7th Pay Commission will get a hike in their dearness allowance (DA) by March 2023. Additionally, if these reports are to be believed, the centre also intends to increase the dearness relief (DR) for pensioners. Generally, the DA and DR are revised twice a year between January and July. So, as the new year is around the corner, the central government employees are anticipated to get a 3 to 5 per cent hike in their DA for March 2023. The media reports further suggest that the central government employees will also receive the long pending 18-month DA arrears soon. In the previous DA increment in September 2022, about 48 lakh central government employees and 68 lakh pensioners benefitted. The Centre increased DA by 4% in September 2022, bringing the total increase to 38%. Prior to this, the 7th Pay Commission raised the 34 percent DA received by central government employees in March 2022 by 3%. However, the decision to increase the DA will be determined based on the inflation rate and the 7th CPC’s recommendations. There is a potential that the DA will be hiked further if the inflation rate is high at the time.

Organizations with a strong ethics culture can motivate their employees and people around them to speak honestly and with integrity. TATA Group-owned Air India has chosen to develop an ethics governance structure in order to boost the airline’s ethics culture. The airline has also announced the formation of committees at the regional and apex levels. The apex committee would be led by Campbell Wilson, managing director and CEO of Air India. Air India’s chief ethics counsellor (CEC), chief human resource officer (CHRO), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief operations officer (COO) are also members of the committee. The apex committee would be in charge of formalising any ethics or related guidelines, as well as approving policies, forms, and procedures pertaining to ethics guidelines. According to the internal document, regional ethics committees can escalate issues to the apex committee if they arise. One of the committee’s major responsibilities will be to create a “positive ethics culture” through continual engagement, AI engagement, and ethics training. This mission will also be supported by local ethics counsellors (LECs) and regional ethics champions. Gurjot Malhi has been appointed as the new CEC. Previously, he was the CEC of Vistara, where he attempted to establish a system along the same lines. Malhi has been at Tata Steel for almost a decade. He has served as an advisor to the managing director of Tata Steel, as well as an advisor to Tata Sons in Bombay House and the CEO of Vistara.

Vedantu, the edtech unicorn, has laid off 385 employees, bringing the total number of layoffs this year to almost 1,000. Senior executives will also face pay cuts. Vedantu laid off 624 staff in May of this year, followed by another 100 three months later. The Company is trying to rationalise while focusing on rapid growth. As part of this cost-cutting and rationalisation effort, the Company’s leadership, including the founders, will take a 50% pay cut. Vedantu recently paid $40 million for Deeksha. The latter is a platform established in Karnataka that assists students in preparing for board and competitive exams. This was a first step toward going hybrid. In Muzaffarpur, the company had lately constructed a ‘hybrid’ coaching centre. Given the global economic uncertainty, Vedantu has merely done what other companies are doing today. Fear of a recession and inflationary conditions are affecting businesses worldwide, causing them to cut costs. As the need for online coaching has decreased following the pandemic and schools have reopened, most edtech platforms have established physical coaching centres across the country. Vedantu became a unicorn in September 2021, after raising $100 million in a Series E funding round led by ABC World Asia. Tiger Global, Coatue Management, GGV Capital, and WestBridge were among the other investors. Vedantu was founded in 2011 by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, and Anand Prakash, alumni of IIT-Delhi.

Amazon, the technology and ecommerce giant, was reported to be planning to lay off up to 10,000 employees in the coming months in mid-November. However, according to Computerworld, the company is considering laying off 20,000 people across all businesses and divisions. Employees at distribution centres, corporate roles, and technological functions will be affected by this layoff. According to reports, this will be Amazon’s largest layoff in its history. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, announced in a statement to the media that the company is considering layoffs but did not provide specific numbers. People working in people experience business physical stores would be impacted, according to him. This layoff is expected to affect all firms, with no specific location indicated. Employees in higher salary bands will also be laid off. Amazon has seven bands, and all are expected to be impacted. It is also said that employees who are laid off will receive a mail confirmation and severance pay 24 hours before their termination. According to the report, one of the reasons for this layoff is that the company, which was employing in large numbers during the pandemic, overhired. Amazon is now sacking employees as a cost-cutting measure in the guise of streamlining the business. Managers in the Company have been requested to investigate performance issues in their teams as a result of the layoffs. Amazon teams are considering relocating the laid-off employees to different roles within the Amazon group of businesses or offering them separation packages. The severance package will include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and outside job placement assistance. Amazon’s ecommerce business has been decreasing. In reality, Amazon Web Services’ year-on-year income has also decreased this year. The quarter ending September had revenue increase of 27%, which was lower than the preceding two quarters, which saw revenue growth of 33% and 36.5 percent, respectively.

Samsung plans to hire 1000+ engineers for its research and development (R&D) institutes across India in order to boost its focus on innovation and new-age technology. In 2023, the new hires will join the Korean tech company’s R&D centres in Bangalore, Delhi, and Noida, as well as the Samsung Semiconductor India Research in Bengaluru. Engineers will be hired from a variety of fields, including computer science and related fields (AI/ML/computer vision/VLSI, for instance), information technology, electronics, instrumentation, embedded systems, and communication networks. Engineers will be chosen from disciplines such as mathematics, computing, and software engineering. All new hires will work on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, image processing, IoT, connectivity, cloud, Big Data, business intelligence, and others. “Strengthening their focus on innovation and cutting-edge technology, Samsung’s R&D centres aim to hire new talent from India’s top engineering institutes who will work on breakthrough innovations, technologies, products and designs, including India-centric innovations, that enrich people’s lives. This will further our vision of Powering Digital India” said Sameer Wadhawan, head of human resources at Samsung India. Samsung is aiming to hire roughly 200 engineers from leading Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) such as Madras, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bombay, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Guwahati, and Varanasi (BHU) for the current season. Over 400 pre-placement offers (PPOs) have already been extended to students at IITs and other top institutions.

Hirect, a chat-based direct-hiring platform for startups, has laid off 40% of its workforce as part of organisational restructuring and strategic changes to its business model. That means the startup is laying off over 200 staff. Hirect is a platform that enables recruiters to employ candidates through the app’s audio and video calling features. It focuses on high-growth startups and small companies, finding the best talent without the use of consultants. The Company, which mostly serves the startup sector, appears to be suffering from a slowdown in new hires. According to the company’s LinkedIn profile, there are approximately 472 employees. According to Mint, the Bengaluru and San Francisco-based company employed over 600 people at its peak. Three of the impacted employees were reportedly requested to leave in mid-October, but they have yet to receive their release letters. According to these individuals, management did not meet its commitments and did not provide severance pay or job-search aid. Furthermore, prior to the layoff, the employees were asked to relocate to the Bengaluru office. Meanwhile, management has stated that its first objective is to settle employee dues. Hirect aggressively marketed in Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune last year, at a time when hiring, particularly for tech-related positions, was a hot topic in the start-up world. To expand its reach, the chat-based direct-hiring platform partnered with major brands and multinational companies in July. Hirect initially catered primarily to startups, but the company later redesigned its website (www.hirect.in) in an entirely new format to provide a better user experience.

Ramesh Chauhan, a veteran industrialist, told news agency PTI on Thursday that Bisleri International is in discussions with a number of players, including Tata Consumer Products Limited (TCPL), about selling its packaged water business. His remarks followed a story in the Economic Times that TPCL was planning to buy Bisleri for an astounding Rs 7,000 crore. Ramesh Chauhan, the chairman of Bisleri, however, denied that the agreement with Tata Group had reached a conclusion and said that he was still looking for a buyer for his packaged water company. The group is in talks with a number of potential buyers, he added. The chairman of Bisleri International, Chauhan, responded, “It’s not correct… We are still discussing” when questioned about the rumours that he had decided to sell his firm to the Tata Group company. In the meanwhile, TCPL added that it will issue the proper announcements in accordance with the rules as and when such a need arrives. The Tata Group company also stated in a regulatory filing that it is in talks with Bisleri International for the growth and expansion of the business of the company. Since many years, Ramesh Chauchan has led Bisleri, a market leader in the packaged water segment. As part of the segment, a number of businesses compete, including Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)’s Rail Neer, Bailley from Parle Agro, PepsiCo’s Aquafina, and Coca-Cola India through its brand Kinley. However, all of these businesses fall short of Bisleri. The company is also present in the fizzy beverage market with brands like PinaColada, Spicy, Limonata, and Fonzo. In addition, Chauhan created a number of super brands, including ThumsUp, Gold Spot, Maaza, and Limca, which the Coca-Cola Company acquired in 1993 after reentering the Indian market. In the meantime, TCPL, which was created by joining Tata Chemicals’ consumer products business with Tata Global Beverages, aims to become a dominant player in the FMCG sector by stepping outside of its comfort zone and expanding into new markets. In its most recent annual report, TCPL stated, “with strong product innovation, investment in strengthening our brands and strategic acquisitions, we are well on track in our journey to become a leading FMCG company”.

An internal memo from Amazon claims that the tech giant has made voluntary layoffs available to some employees. CNBC has looked at the confidential document. Employees in numerous departments, including human resources and employee services, have received the voluntary severance offer. For individuals who accept this offer, three months of compensation will be given in addition to one week’s pay for every six months of employment. Employees who choose this voluntary severance will also receive a 12-week payment that can be used to lower COBRA premiums, as well as the continuation of their insurance through the end of December. Employees have until November 29 to accept this offer, and they have till December 5 to decline it if they change their minds. Amazon will pick who stays and who departs after this. For those whose resignations would be accepted, will be informed next month, and their last working day will be December 23. The severance payment marks the start of the 10,000 staff layoffs that the company announced last week. It appears that the company is giving individuals some time before sacking them because a large number of people have reportedly been urged to find another job within the next two months. It appears that the company has also let go of staff members from departments including Alexa, retail, and human resources.

Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, has urged every employee of the state’s government to put in an hour more each day. On November 10, 2022, Bommai was addressing at a gathering where a delegation from the Karnataka State Government Employees Association was supporting him in his efforts to form the 7th Pay Commission and impose a revised pay scale for state government employees. Bommai urged the workforce to put in an additional hour of work in order for the State to advance quickly and contribute to the greater goal of making India a $5 trillion economy. He placed a specific emphasis on aiding the state’s underprivileged, oppressed, and female citizens. Bommai stated that Karnataka should contribute around $1 trillion toward the goal of making India a $5 trillion economy. He mentioned that the State had a Rs. 5000 crore revenue deficit when he took office. He did admit that state government officials put in a lot of effort and achieved all of their goals, if not more. He expressed his gratitude in particular to the police and the healthcare sector for their round-the-clock assistance during the global pandemic. With inflation on the rise, Bommai said on the updated pay scale that it is crucial to earn the proper amount of money at the right time. The State government made the decision to implement the updated pay scale for all employees for this reason. The CM went on to say that he wanted every employee to work diligently and honestly, leaving the rest up to him.

The 11,000 employees that Facebook’s parent company Meta has decided to let go of will receive 16 weeks of base salary plus two extra weeks for each year of service, with no cap. This means that about 13% of its workforce is currently jobless. Reductions will be made on Facebook and Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, wrote in a note to the staff, “I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here.”  He also said that the company is taking a number of further actions to make a leaner and more efficient company by lowering discretionary expenditure and extending the hiring freeze through Q1. I know this is challenging for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted. Those affected will also get compensation for any remaining paid time off (PTO), in addition to the severance pay. The expense of healthcare for employees and their families will also be covered by the company for a period of six months. Additionally, Meta will offer three months of career help through a third-party vendor, including first access to unreleased employment leads. According to what you and your family need, “We have dedicated immigration specialists to help guide you,” Zuckerberg stated. According to the Company, the Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) will vest on November 15th. A similar level of support will be provided to employees based abroad. The announcement of distinct procedures will take into account regional employment legislation. Given the level of access to sensitive information, the Company further declared that it will immediately revoke any access to the Meta systems. However, the email addresses will be accessible all day so that individuals can send and receive farewell emails. Zuckerberg mentioned that after the COVID-19 outbreak, things didn’t turn out as expected. “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” he said. The Company wanted to improve its capital efficiency in this new environment. The metaverse’s long-term vision, an AI discovery engine, business platforms, and other high-priority growth sectors will receive more of Meta’s resources going forward. “We’ve cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real-estate footprint. We’re restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I’ve also made the hard decision to let people go,” Zuckerberg said. I want you to know that we’re making these decisions to ensure our future is strong, Zuckerberg said in a message to the staff who were saved from this layoff.