Govt not to turn a blind eye to Satyam layoffs

The government today said it will not turn a "blind eye" to the issue of layoffs in scam-tainted Satyam Computer, which has now been acquired by Mahindra and Mahindra group firm Tech Mahindra.

"Layoffs -- this is something we are not going to turn a blind eye to as we have a relevant presence in decision making," new Minister for Corporate Affairs Salman Khursheed told PTI.

He was responding to queries on the comments by Tech Mahindra CEO Vineet Nayyar that there are 10,000 surplus people in the Hyderabad-based IT firm.

Later there were reports that Satyam was planning to lay off about 8,000 non-billable (non-II) staff working in departments like marketing, HR and administration.

Emphasising that his ministry will liaise with the company on this issue, Khursheed said, "We will not allow the company to be taken for a ride.... Our opinion and advice are important till Satyam reaches a Sundaram stage (till everything improves)." Coining the strategy for the IT company as "Satyam, Shivam and Sundaram", the Minister said Satyam is passing through the Shivam stage, necessitating hard decisions.

"At the Shivam stage, some hard steps... Will be taken for rebuilding the confidence... We will try to be as sensitive as possible. We would certainly coordinate on that (layoffs)," the Minister said.