MUMBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Fraud-hit Satyam Computer (SATY.BO) will trim its sales staff in overseas locations to help cut costs and to repay debts to creditors, the Economic Times said on Monday, citing a Satyam official.
"We are looking at rationalising employees who provide pre and post-sales services onsite as part of the cost-rationalisation exercise," Hari Thalapalli, Satyam's global head of marketing and communication, was quoted as saying in the report.
Satyam has been battling for its survival after founder and former chairman Ramalinga Raju disclosed last month that profits had been overstated for years. The fund-starved firm has borrowed from banks to meet short-term capital requirement. (For more stories on Satyam please click on ID:nBOM394323)
The newspaper quoted Thalapalli as saying that the cutting of its sales force overseas was "imminent", given the current state of Satyam and the company was not planning to hire the fresh graduates it had offered jobs a year earlier.
About 10,000 employees provide onsite services to clients, the Economic Times said.
When contacted by Reuters, Thalapalli said the company's focus was on cost rationalisation, rather than volume rationalisation but he declined further comment.
"At this stage, I cannot comment. The task force will look at it," he told Reuters.
Separately, the Financial Express newspaper said insurance major Assurant (AIZ.N) and the world's largest credit card network Visa Inc (V.N) had ended contracts with Satyam, but a Satyam spokeswoman told Reuters she could not confirm this.
"At this point, that's not true," she said, when asked to comment on the report on Assurant and Visa businesses.
Zensar Technologies Ltd (ZENT.BO), which has been working with Assurant, has secured Satyam's part of the contract, the report quoted an unnamed industry source as saying and estimated the total contract with Zensar was worth $10 million over two years.
In January, State Farm Insurance Co terminated its contract with Satyam. (Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Valerie Lee)
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