The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Headcount at HDFC Bank down by over 6,000
JOB RATIONALISATION IN INDIA INC
AFTER WIPRO, Larsen & Toubro and hundreds of small units, it is the turn of HDFC Bank to report a lower headcount.
The second largest private sector bank has witnessed a drop in headcount by over 6,000 to 84,325 in the wake of increased digitisation in the March quarter. The bank has hinted this trend of falling staff strength may continue as greater efficiencies set in. “This is really a function of what is happening on the digital side. We do believe that with increased digitisation, certain lines of transaction like counters etc actually reduce,” HDFC Bank deputy managing director Paresh Sukthankar said.
Accordingtoasource,digitisation may lead to more job rationalisationinthebankingandtelecom sectors. Small scale industry bodieshadestimatedupto60per cent job losses in the wake of demonetisation. Wipro has sacked about600employees,whilespeculation was rife that the number could go as high as 2,000. At the end of December 2016, the firm had over 1.79 lakh employees.
Hdfcbank’sheadcountfellby 6,096duringjanuary-march2017 from 90,421 to 84,325. This was one of the main drivers for the massiveimprovementinthecostto-income ratio to 42.4 per cent from 44.9 per cent a year ago. In the preceding quarter, the headcount fell by 4,581 employees, whichhelpedthecost-to-income ratio improve to 43.8 per cent.
Sukthankar said that while digital technologies help reduce reliance on people, network expansion requires additional manpower. “Natural attrition” happens as newer hands are not hired as replacements for those who have resigned, he said. “We still believe there is room to continue to go down that path.”
In one of the biggest layoffs in the Indian corporate sector in November 2016, L&T cut about 14,000 jobs.
L&T then said the exercise was part of initiatives “to right size staffing in various businesses”. “The digitisation and productivity enhancement initiatives taken by us boiled down to redundancies of roles and we have been able to shed as a group 14,000 in the six months to September,” L&T had said.
According to a report by the GSM Association, consolidation in the telecom sector could cause nearly a third of jobs to be shed. India’s telecom sector directly employs 2.2 million people and 1.8 million indirectly.
A study conducted by the All India Manufacturers’ Organisation, which represents small units, had projected a drop in employment of 60 per cent and loss in revenue of 55 per cent before March 2017. WITH PTI
Fall in the headcount was one of the factors for the improvement in the cost-to-income ratio to 42.4% from 44.9% a year ago