Satyam: no layoffs now, but salary cuts possible

Tech Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra on Monday ruled out immediate job losses among the 45,000-odd Satyam employees but added that an integration team “is already in place in Hyderabad to decide on the staff strength” for the acquired company. Speaking at a press conference after the first detailed meeting with the staff of the company taken over by Tech Mahindra last week, he said, “Our immediate plan would be to retain current customers, win back businesses and retain the key 100 associates.”

The plans also include finding a CFO for Satyam, said Vineet Nayyar, CEO of Tech Mahindra. “We are on the lookout for a CFO, who would be decided in the next few weeks.” One of the first tasks of the new incumbent could be asking for a salary cut of at least 10% across all categories, a source close to the company said.

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Stability returns at Satyam, claims Karnik

The crisis at Satyam Computers seems to be over, at least this is the pitch that the minister and the chairman have been making. For the Satyam employees this augurs as good news as their February salaries are expected to be paid.

Speaking before the board meeting began, the new chairman of Satyam, Kiran Karnik mentioned that the company had achieved some sort of financial stability and that the developments on the receivables front was giving the management some confidence. “We have put out the fire,” said Karnik before the board meeting and mentioned that the board would discuss the future of the company.

He also mentioned that the restatement of the accounts was in progress and that he could not give any time frame for the completion.

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Permanent Satyam employees number stands at 43,622: Provident Fund Organisation

The Provident Fund Organisation(PFO), Hyderabad, has put the official count of Satyam Computer Services permanent employees at 43,622. Officials of the regional office in Hyderabad lodged a complaint with the CID on Thursday against B Ramalinga Raju, the founder and former chairman of beleaguered outsourcing giant Satyam Computer, and former chief financial officer V Srinivas for not depositing Rs 7.5 crore, the employees’ share of the PF collected by Satyam for December 2008.

For the record, the government-appointed board of directors for Satyam had earlier asserted that the number of Satyam employees tallies with the 52,000 figure as was claimed by the Ramalinga Raju-led management. The Hyderabad PFO’s figure is in line with the public prosecutor’s argument in court that Satyam had close to 40,000 employees on its rolls.

According to sources in the PF department, the office would be filing a case against Raju and Srinivas for breach of trust as the company has already deducted the employees’ share of the PF, but failed to deposit it with the PF office.

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Ghost workers at Satyam

Just how many people does Satyam Computer Services employ? In June 2008,Satyam reported it had 51,643 employees on the rolls.The company’s website and government statements after founder & former chairman B Ramalinga Raju’s confessions put the number at 53,000. Minister of corporate affairs Premchand Gupta said last Friday that the only way to determine the actual staff strength was through the provident fund office.

According to the public prosecutor arguing the matter in a Hyderabad metropolitan magistrate court on Thursday, the number of employees is 40,000. FE learns that the last time Satyam filed its monthly returns to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), for the month of November 2008, the number of employees stood at 43,622.

For December,EPFO is yet to receive the PF contribution returns from the company, although the law mandates that contributions be deposited by the 15th of the following month.

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