Karnataka - Bangalore

Bit by byte, recession hit the tech sector

BANGALORE: This year, the price of a kg of rice at your neighbourhood grocery store went from Rs. 20 to Rs. 35. Vegetable prices rose seamlessly for the latter part of the year, and most commodities remained out of reach for a substantial segment of the city. While some of these “fluctuations” were ironed out to an extent as the year drew to a close, the IT city, with its numerous techies, continues to reel under the spectre of recession.

Over the year, the techie’s cushy job went from being a plush, much-coveted profile to one punctuated with constant job insecurity, increased work pressure and diminishing pay cheques. While most companies chose to play the “no pink slips” card every time retrenchments were mentioned, pink slips and low severance packages resurfaced for the first time since 2002.

The year began with global IT major IBM laying off nearly 1,200 employees, followed by TCS which cut the flab in its Bangalore offices. Though both companies termed it a “quality-improvement” exercise, 24-year-old Nishant, a fresher at IBM, was among the first to be shown the door. “I lost my first job, and given the job market right now there is no talk of recruitment anywhere,” he explains. Nishant is working in a call centre to repay his education loan and to keep himself afloat.

Stories like these, previously unheard of in this “sunshine sector”, became more common through the year. Shiva, a middle-level executive from the IT services section of a financial company, lost his job almost overnight. “The signs were all there for us to see,” he says.

“Several of us were kept hanging without projects when a few others were forced to handle multiple projects. A junior colleague who took a week off to study for CAT was brutally fired without notice.” With EMIs on two personal loans and a home loan to pay off, Shiva confesses that his 12-month severance package is totally inadequate.

Though the techie was the face of recession in the IT city, several other industries showed symptoms of the same disease. Daily wage workers in sectors as diverse as garment, construction and even painters and carpenters were affected by the downturn. Shadiq, a carpenter, says that fewer people walk into the shop with orders now. “Our boss tells us that the business is slow. I hear that the market is on a low, and though things are not too bad right now, people are saying that next year will be worse,” he said.

(All names have been changed.)

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