Big tech companies announced layoff for more than 70000 employees.

Many tech firms have announced layoffs for more than 70000 employees in the last year. And the names include major tech giants like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, and others, which are the dream company for millions of people to work with. So, the question arises what is the actual meaning of layoff? A layoff is a termination of employment initiated by the employer for reasons other than the actual work performance. In simple terms, it is the downsizing of an organization’s workforce by suspension or permanent termination of a worker or group of workers.

Let’s take a view at some of the biggest layoffs announced:

Amazon, the world’s largest online retail platform has announced 18000 layoffs.

Google’s parent company Alphabet announced a layoff for 12000 of its employees.

Meta announced 11000 layoffs.

Microsoft announced a layoff of 10000 employees.

Salesforce announced a 10% job cut which will affect around 8000 employees.

Elon Musk owned social media handle Twitter has laid off 3700 employees.

These firms and many other firms even from the non-tech field will further announce more such layoffs in the coming months. And the reasons stated for such a massive termination by companies include over-hiring in the past 2 years from 2020 to 2022, the number of job opportunities has skyrocketed. Many companies increased the number of people in the sector to handle the many projects. But post pandemic, the demand for tech services have been seen a downward turn and companies found themselves in a situation to reduce their operating cost and they see layoff as a solution. Also, another major reason is the alarming recession. As with the mark of the new year 2023, World Bank and IMF have published reports stating that the chances of many economies heading toward recession are high. Recession will lead to low aggregate demand and result in low revenue for companies. So, companies in order to reduce their costs so as to be profitable are looking for laying off their employees.

By 2027, India could assemble 1 in 2 Iphone according to a report.

India is projected to assemble up to 50 per cent of Apple’s iPhones by 2027, which will be a significant increase from the current rate of less than five per cent. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, it will bring India’s level of production in line with that of mainland China.

India could produce one in two of the world’s iPhones by 2027 as compared to the current percentage which stands at less than 5 percent, as per a latest  forecast by Luke Lin.

Here Luke Lin is an analyst at the research unit of Taiwan’s DigiTimes newspaper, in the South China Morning Post.

It appears that this  forecast is more aggressive than JPMorgan’s earlier prediction that India would assemble 25 percent of total Apple iPhones worldwide by 2025.

What the employees around globe, thinks of recommending their profession to the next generation? Look at the report.

India ranked the highest with 66 percent of employees stating that they wouldn’t recommend their profession to their children or any young person that they care about, while 67 percent wouldn’t recommend their employers, according to The Workforce Institute at UKG.

The report, ‘We Can Fix Work’, provides insights into what parents, family members and mentors are telling children about what they should value in their jobs and employers — urging future generations to let purpose, not money, guide career choices.

It found that on a global scale, nearly half (46%) of employees would neither recommend their company nor their profession to their children or a young person they care about, and a startling 38 percent “wouldn’t wish my job on my worst enemy.”

The report also stated that 45 percent of employees worldwide don’t want to work anymore. There has been a recent rise in the anti-work mindset, globally, owing to the pandemic as 77 percent of employees around the world want to spend less time working and more time doing things that matter to them.

It further showed that too much overtime affects the employee-employer relationship. If employees tend to work overtime more than twice per week, it strains their relationship with the employer and they’re even less likely to recommend their jobs or their companies to the next generation.

Take a loot at a report related to employability of Indians published by Wheelbox India Skill.

The employability of Indians has gone up in the last one year according to The Wheebox India Skills Report. As per its evaluation, half of the candidates – at 50.3% were found to be employable as compared to the 46.2% last year.

This report is a result of the evaluation of 3.75 lakh candidates or freshers who took the Wheebox National Employability Test (WNET) across India and the participation of 150 corporations from over 15 different industries in the Early Career Edition of the India Hiring Intent Survey.

It is interesting to note that the percentage of the employable women workforce stands at 52.8%, compared to 47.2% for men.

“The consistent rise in women’s employability over the past ten years is a positive sign of radical changes in India’s developing labour market. Increased participation of women at work will give industries an edge with key roles already being occupied by women as we go into 2023,” the report said.

“Success rate of Indian startups is higher than rest of the world” said the commerce minister.

The success rate of startups in India is relatively higher than the rest of the world, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said while answering a question in the Lok Sabha on 14th december.

The number of recognised startups has increased from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 as on November 30, 2022, the Minister said.
Startups are offered the funding at various stages of their business cycles through the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS).

The SISFS has been approved with a corpus of 945 crore and has also been sanctioned for four years beginning in 2021–22. It aims to give entrepreneurs financial support for concept proofing, prototype development, product trials, market-entry, and commercialization.

Alternatives to layoff.

In the span of weeks, the United States’ Silicon Valley which has been a reliable source of high-paying jobs and booming stocks is now witnessing a tough time with major big tech companies including Meta, Twitter, Snap, and Microsoft announcing mass layoffs, which have tens of thousands of people unemployed. 

Layoffs are happening as the world ponders whether a global recession is coming. Whatever label people end up putting on this era, companies are struggling with consecutive lackluster quarters, inflation, price hikes, and uncertainty. Varying interest rates, a plummeting stock market, and a downturn in consumer confidence are only making matters worse. 

Here are some alternatives to layoffs that may help HR avoid all the drama: 

Remote Work

Thanks to the pandemic, most, if not all, companies with knowledge workers are now set up for remote work. 

Hiring Freeze

Many companies that are laying off people are still hiring at the same time. It is a bad look. Employers should have a hiring freeze to save money and stay on budget.

Furloughs

Furloughs can be a short-term way to avoid at least some layoffs. A furlough is a mandatory but temporary leave of absence. A furloughed employee works a reduced schedule or takes unpaid leave.

Pay cuts

Pay cuts can help prevent a business from bleeding jobs. However, to be noted that this strategy can be costly for employees, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck amid high inflation.

Cuts in benefits or perks

Aside from pay cuts, an employer might temporarily reduce benefits or perks to “buy the company some time” to turn around its finances.

India to become a hub of drone technology.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur this week said that India will become a hub of drone technology and the country will require at least 1 lakh drone pilots by next year. He was speaking at the gathering after flagging of the ‘Drone Yatra 2.0’, in Chennai.

Stating that India will require at least 1 lakh pilots in 2023, he said that each pilot will earn at least Rs 50-80 thousand a month. “If you take the Conservative Average even Rs 50,000 × 1 lakh youth × 12 months = Rs. 6000 crores a year worth employment could be created in the Drone sector,” he said

Apart from this, Industries and Government agencies which use Drones will also be impacted. He appreciated the that Garuda Aerospace’s plan to make one lakh ‘Made in India’ drones in the next two years.

Garuda’s Drone Skilling & Training Conference which is to be conducted in 775 districts across the country hopes to reach 10 lakh Youth. With an aim to train 1 lakh Youth to significantly impact not just the Drone ecosystem or generate employment for Youth, but hopes to create a massive impact in agriculture, mining, government departments and Other industries.

While noting that currently there are over 200 drone start-ups operating in the country, the minister said that this number will increase to generate lakhs of new job opportunities for the youth.

Indian telecom sector to hire staffs laid off by big tech MNCs.

According a report by Economics Times : The Indian telecom eco-system could absorb up to 30% of the workforce laid off at the big tech firms and who chose to return to India. These include employees across technical and service profiles, say staffing experts.

Companies like Meta, Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft and Stripe among many others have laid off employees and rationalised their employee base. According to estimates by TeamLease, over 62,000 employees have received the pink slip in 2022.

While employees at tech firms are facing headwinds in light of the pink slips being dealt out, the Indian telecom eco-system has increased its hiring over the past few quarters in light of the 5G rollout.

Given the hiring impetus that the telecom sector is seeing, one would expect it to absorb a majority of the employees laid off. However, there is only so much of a skill overlap between the workforce being laid off, and the requirement at the telecom companies say experts.

Passenger cars to witness a price hike in the new year.

Kia, Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have announced a price hike across their model range from January 2023. All carmakers have cited an increase in commodity prices as the major reason behind the hike.

Maruti Suzuki has confirmed that it will be increasing the prices of its entire model line-up, although the hike will vary depending on the model. 

Kia will hike the price of its entire model line-up by up to Rs 50,000 from January 2023. The South Korean manufacturer has also stated increasing commodity and transportation costs as the reason for the hike.

Along with the rise in commodity prices, Tata also states that updating its vehicles to meet the upcoming RDE norms will also lead to a hike in prices. 

India to add 80 new airports till 2027.

India’s aviation regulator has stated that the country could add nearly 80 new airports in the next four to five years. India’s annual aviation sector growth rate currently sits at around 9% but is likely to reach double digits in the coming years.

In the last eight years alone, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 141. This number is expected to shoot up to around 220 in the next half a decade with all the new airports that have been planned.

While new airports are expected to support India’s growing aviation market, the civil aviation ministry has a much larger vision. One of them is to possibly develop an aviation hub in India, with the government planning to create an ecosystem to support such a development in the future.

While Indian airports often feature in the list of busiest and well-maintained airports, they’re nowhere near some of their global counterparts when it comes to offering fast and reliable connections to international passengers.

While there are many challenges to developing a hub airport in India, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia plans to iron out those issues in the coming few years. The larger plan also includes having more than 90 airports that are carbon-neutral by 2024, with a 2030 net-zero emissions target.

Tips for faster promotion in jobs.

Many people wonder how to get promoted at work. It’s not as hard as it seems. All you need is a little bit of patience and a lot of hard work. Just make sure to not slack off and you’ll be well on your way to the top!

Here’s how to rise through the ranks in the fastest way possible

These are quickly summed up in the bullet points below.

  • Punctuality– Always arrive on time
  • Work Etiquette– This is related to dressing properly and behaving professionally
  • Work ethics– Be committed, proactive and honest in your job.
  • Positive Attitude– Be positive and confident. Increase productivity through attitude. Who doesn’t love good personalities?
  • Stay organised– Keep a track of all your work in progress and keep your work area clean
  • Goal-orientedness– It is important to stay ahead of schedule. Always strive to beat targets and deadlines
  • Be a Team player– Love everyone and be loved by all. This should be the aim to get promoted quickly.
  • Leave home at home– Don’t discuss private affairs and leave your personal baggage of responsibilities at home
  • Work hard– Nothings succeeds like success. Work hard to become successful and further success will follow

IT employees are rewarded with double digit salary hike before the festive season.

As per a report by brokerage and research firm Elara Capital, companies like Coforge, L&T Infotech (LTI) and Persistent Systems (PSYS) hiked salaries in double-digits in FY22. Reportedly, this is the maximum hike that they have given in 4 years.

The same hike trend is been observed among employees of all major IT companies such as Infosys, HCL, TCS and other big IT corporations, and it was seen as a good move considering the pandemic hit stagnant income of the employees and much more relief from the dark clouds of spiking inflation all around.

In FY22, the median wage rise was 2.4x five-year average wage increase for midcap Indian IT companies as acute supply-side strain necessitated roll-out of substantial salary hikes.

As compared to the previous four years, the employee growth has exceeded the median salary growth which implies faster fresher addition (pyramid flattening).

As demand for services such as cloud-computing, digital payment infrastructure, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency transactions surged, employers paid top compensation to lure skilled workers.

Further, Double digit salary hikes are here to stay for at least another year. The Salary Increase Survey report by AON says that Indian companies are expected to boost average salaries by at least 10.4% in 2023, a tad lower than the 10.6% given in 2022 so far.

The average salary hikes in percentage terms for 2022 is highest in India as compared with other big countries, including the USA, the UK and Japan, the report said.

What does ‘Moonlighting’ mean?

The majority of IT firms have strengthened their opposition to moonlighting and threatened to fire employees who are found to be working two jobs. Moonlighting could be viewed as unfair competition if an employee’s contract stipulates non-compete restrictions and exclusive employment.

Significant IT business, Infosys, has cautioned its employees against accepting a second job without first informing the employer. Infosys recently reminded all of its employees to study their employment contracts before accepting a different job in one of the letters sent to staff members by the HR department. In fact, the employer also issued a warning that if an employee accepted a second job during or after working hours, they risked being fired. The term that IT corporates uses to describe this practice is ‘moonlighting’.

But what is moonlighting?

Moonlighting means taking up a second job or multiple other work assignments apart from one’s full-time job. The practice of working for other organisation while committing oneself to one’s primary workplace, typically without the employer’s knowledge, is termed as ‘moonlighting’. Companies have opposed the practice, saying that employees doing multiple jobs can impact their productivity.

Moonlighting has become a topic of debate in the IT industry as working from home became the normal norm during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is believed to have led to a rise in dual employment.

Businesses disagree with the approach, claiming that having staff perform numerous tasks can reduce productivity. As working from home became the norm during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is thought to have caused an increase in dual employment, moonlighting has come under discussion in the IT industry.

Self-Improvement Month

If you’re reading this, then chances are that you are looking for some way to improve your life. Maybe you need help with personal development or maybe you’ve been thinking about starting a new job or volunteering at an organization. Whatever your reason for wanting to make changes in your life, it’s important that we keep our eyes open and try new things so we can be successful in achieving our goals.

Without encouragement, it is difficult to change.

Without encouragement, it is difficult to change. You need to believe in yourself and think that you can improve your life by making positive changes. The first step is believing that you can improve for the better—that’s because it will make all the difference. If you do not believe that things can get better, then no one else will either.

If someone says they are going through hard times or struggling with something difficult right now, try giving them some words of encouragement as a way of showing them how much strength there is inside themselves despite their circumstances (or lack thereof). This could mean saying something like “I know what it’s like when things keep getting worse instead of better.” Or maybe even just “I’m sorry about everything happening right now.” These small gestures go a long way towards helping those around us feel supported during times when we feel isolated from others’ understanding due to our own struggles.

You are most likely to succeed if you focus on one change at a time.

The key to success is to focus on one change at a time. This can be as easy as focusing on improving your diet, or it may be more complex—it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and how long it will take for you to reach your goal.

For example: If you want to lose weight, then focus on eating healthier food and making more exercise a part of your daily routine. Once that’s accomplished and needs adjusting (such as adding more fruits or vegetables), move onto the next step by increasing the amount of exercise in your schedule again until all of these changes have been completed successfully.

Changing your life takes time and daily effort.

Changing your life takes time and daily effort. You can’t change a habit overnight, nor can you expect to change your lifestyle or attitude overnight.

You have to commit to making positive changes in the way you think and act for them to stick. This includes changing negative beliefs about yourself and others, as well as changing other people’s perceptions of you—for example, by doing something nice for someone else instead of taking advantage of them.

The changes you make will have an impact on other people, so talk to them about what you are doing.

Make sure you have a support network:

You can’t do it alone! You need people who believe in you and want to help support your goals.

Be honest with yourself:

Don’t let yourself get discouraged by results because they won’t always be immediate or easy to achieve; this is just another step in the process of self-improvement.

You are more likely to change your behavior if you write down your goals and track your progress toward them.

If you want to make changes in the way that you live your life, it’s important to write down your goals. The more specific and detailed they are, the easier it will be for you to stay focused on achieving them.

You can use a notebook or spreadsheet as a place where you put down all of the things that matter most to you—including what motivates each goal and any additional details about how long until completion or other deadlines associated with achieving each goal (if applicable). Then once per month or so (depending on how often progress is made toward those goals), go back through this list of ideas and see where there are still opportunities for improvement or new additions which may help bring about change faster than otherwise would be possible otherwise.”

Sometimes people need a second or third try before they can achieve their goals.

Change is a process that can happen gradually if we give ourselves permission to not be perfect.

It’s okay to fail. You don’t have to make every mistake in the world, but you do need to take risks and learn from them. If you’re going through a difficult time, it may feel like everything is stacked against you, but remember: You’re stronger than that! Don’t let anyone else dictate what your limits are; set boundaries for yourself so that everyone around you knows where they stand with respect toward how much weight/pressure/stressors they bring into your life (and vice versa).

You can’t change everything at once! Change takes time and effort—you might not see results right away on day one of starting something new at work; sometimes there are things we need practice doing before learning how good our new skills actually feel like coming out of our mouths (or fingers). Make sure whatever goal(s) this month has been focused on has been well-thought out beforehand so as not waste valuable resources unnecessarily trying out half-baked ideas prematurely – because even though change doesn’t happen overnight…it does happen eventually 

Conclusion

If you are ready to start changing your life and make some changes in your life, then this is the right time. Start now.

History of India & Indian National Movement.

Early times the Indian subcontinent appears to have provided an attractive habitat for human occupation. Toward the south it is effectively sheltered by wide expanses of ocean, which tended to isolate it culturally in ancient times, while to the north it is protected by the massive ranges of the Himalayas, which also sheltered it from the Arctic winds and the air currents of Central Asia. Only in the northwest and northeast is there easier access by land, and it was through those two sectors that most of the early contacts with the outside world took place.

Within the framework of hills and mountains represented by the Indo-Iranian borderlands on the west, the Indo-Myanmar borderlands in the east, and the Himalayas to the north, the subcontinent may in broadest terms be divided into two major divisions: in the north, the basins of the Indus and Ganges (Ganga) rivers (the Indo-Gangetic Plain) and, to the south, the block of Archean rocks that forms the Deccan plateau region. The expansive alluvial plain of the river basins provided the environment and focus for the rise of two great phases of city life: the civilization of the Indus valley, known as the Indus civilization, during the 3rd millennium BCE; and, during the 1st millennium BCE, that of the Ganges. To the south of this zone, and separating it from the peninsula proper, is a belt of hills and forests, running generally from west to east and to this day largely inhabited by tribal people. This belt has played mainly a negative role throughout Indian history in that it remained relatively thinly populated and did not form the focal point of any of the principal regional cultural developments of South Asia. However, it is traversed by various routes linking the more-attractive areas north and south of it. The Narmada (Narbada) River flows through this belt toward the west, mostly along the Vindhya Range, which has long been regarded as the symbolic boundary between northern and southern India.

India’s movement for Independence occurred in stages elicit by the inflexibility of the Britishers and in various instances, their violent responses to non-violent protests. It was understood that the British were controlling the resources of India and the lives of its people, and as far as this control was ended India could not be for Indians.

On 28 December 1885 Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on the premises of Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit School at Bombay. It was presided over by W.C Banerjee and attended by 72 delegates. A.O Hume played an instrumental role in the foundation of INC with an aim to provide Safety Valve to the British Government.
A.O Hume served as the first General Secretary of INC.
The real Aim of Congress is to train the Indian youth in political agitation and to organise or to create public opinion in the country. For this, they use the method of an annual session where they discuss the problem and passed the resolution.
The first or early phase of Indian Nationalism is also termed as Moderate Phase (1885-1905). Moderate leaders were W.C Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, R.C Dutt, Ferozeshah Mehta, George Yule, etc.
Moderates have full faith in British Government and adopted the PPP path i.e. Protest, Prayer, and Petition.
Due to disillusionment from Moderates’ methods of work, extremism began to develop within the congress after 1892. The Extremist leaders were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh. Instead of the PPP path, they emphasise on self-reliance, constructive work, and swadeshi.
With the announcement of the Partition of Bengal (1905) by Lord Curzon for administrative convenience, Swadeshi and Boycott resolution was passed in 1905.


ONE INDIVIDUAL MAY DIE; BUT THAT IDEA WILL, AFTER HIS DEATH, INCARNATE ITSELF IN A THOUSAND LIVES.

-Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose