Global layoffs hit India as well

It was a bl**dy Monday in the US with thousands of people being laid off. As the economy slows down, India has not remained insulated.

Multinational companies, outsourcing companies have started laying off people. Others have ordered a freeze on hiring.

It's been six months since Jayesh Gholap, a computer engineer lost his job. The knowledge process outsourcing firm he worked in, shut when the US company it served went bust six months ago.

"First thing that hit me was when is the next bill, the next EMI due. Getting a new job, getting used to it is not easy," said Jayesh Gholap, computer Engineer.

Everyday, there are fewer and fewer jobs to go around. On Monday seventy thousand people were laid off in the United States. And India is not insulated.

One more multinational company Unilever has announced plans of cutting costs. In a letter to its employees, the company has warned of job cuts across its subsidiaries globally and India too will be impacted.

The numbers are reflected in the job applications by people already laid off. At an HR firm ABC consultants, 25 per cent of applications are from people who have lost jobs.

"There is a hiring freeze. They are not filing existing positions and letting natural attrition happen. Another aspect is performance appraisal has become stronger and taken a whole new meaning, instead of half yearly it has become quarterly," said Shiv Agrawal, consulatant.

In a global economy several jobs in India like those of Gholap depend on the conditions abroad.

After freeze on hiring and tougher performance appraisals, jobs across the world including India will face a tough test for survival.