Polaris trims workforce

Unsuitable software professionals leave company in Q1

Polaris Software has trimmed its workforce in the first quarter of the current financial year. Arun Jain, chairman and CEO, said Polaris had conducted a role fitment exercise, and employees found unsuitable had decided to leave. The exercise is to continue, he added.

Polaris' manpower between March 2005 and June 2005 dropped by 153 people to stand at 5,850 people. The bulk of the people who left the company during the period were software professionals.

Even as the company trims its workforce, it is set to expand the range of its operations with a new centre in Hyderabad that will be dedicated to providing solutions for the capital market. Jain said Polaris was looking at clients from Wall Street for the same, while speaking to mediapersons after the company's annual general meeting today.

The centre would start with 900 people and double its size over an 18-month period. About 89 per cent of Polaris' revenue comes from the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) domain.

In future, Polaris' concentration on the vertical is unlikely to decline because Jain said the company was going deeper into the vertical.

Polaris' attempt to add depth to its operations by investing in products and business process outsourcing (BPO) is unlikely to yield returns in the near future.

Jain said the company had invested Rs 50 crore last year in Optimus (the BPO) and IntellectSuite (product).

However, the investment is likely to lose Polaris money for another three to four quarters. The losses are expected to gradually decline, added Jain.