Satyamites have a new worry

Hyderabad: The exit of two senior staff from Satyam in the last few days has thrown the firm into a fresh bout of uncertainty once again. News of the exit of Subbu D. Subramaniam, head of Satyam Computer’s manufacturing and automotive group, and Anil Kumar, senior vice president of the financial services vertical, from the firm as well as rumours of takeovers and subsequent layoffs are making employees feel insecure all over again. Added to these are fears that a takeover could involve a change of name of the firm - so that ‘Satyam’ would no longer be the brand name it is for these associates.
If practice, the departure of the two seniors has not really affected most Satyamites. A senior associate was quick to say that at his level, it is the company that matters more than the management. He added “Those who have left are from the top management. Since we have never interacted with them, their departure does not really bother us.” The departures are being viewed more as wrong signals about the future.
Many mid-level employees are worrying about the prospect of a takeover coming with a change of name and possible layoffs. “The Satyam badge has been my identity for the last five or six years and it will be difficult to identify with another name if the new owner decides to change the company name. There will be a feeling of disconnect,” said a senior associate.
“At worst we will lose the Satyam brand, but the new owner is also likely to be a big name and we will continue to have a job. Under the present circumstances, that is good enough,” said a senior Satyam BPO executive.
Then there is the fear of lay offs after a takeover. “The new parent company might decide to bring its own team and we would be shown the door then, so it’s better to prepare for that now,” said a team lead who has been with Satyam for almost four years.
While some associates prefer to ‘wait and watch’ for a few months more, others have started to explore opportunities. A senior manger at Satyam’s Chennai branch confirmed that a large number of employees had put in their papers in the last few days. “People are jittery now, especially the junior level associates who are either serving their bond period or are on the bench, mainly because of rumours that the company would start firing them in the next two months,” he said.
Seniors are not taking any chances either; many of them already have job offers in hand and are negotiating with other firms, just in case they are fired. However since finding jobs under current market conditions is not easy, many are compelled to stay on. “At least we are getting our salaries here, so why take a chance,” said one associate. However analysts say this concern is unnecessary as the the firm is now in “able hands”. With elections round the corner and Satyam being under scrutiny 24X7, it is unlikely that any massive layoffs will take place, they say.
In the meanwhile, seniors in Satyam make reassuring noises. “We have bagged 15 new projects from existing clients and we are also engaging associates in internal projects,” they claim, adding that they are trying to include everyone in the work flow so that no one is demoralised.
(Source TOI)