Genpact to lay off nearly 200 Stamford workers

STAMFORD — Global professional services firm Genpact plans to lay off about 185 Stamford-based employees at the end of next month, as a result of major changes that appear to involve Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds.

A letter Genpact sent Oct. 30 to the state Department of Labor linked the job cuts to “material revisions” to one client contract. The affected positions include vice presidents, managers, management trainees and senior process associates. Most of them have been working from home as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

“This is the best information currently available to the company, but it may change due to subsequent events, some of which may be outside of the company’s control,” Genpact vice president and legal counsel Richard Sutton said in the letter. “The company hopes to accomplish this process with the least possible disruption to its affected employees and surrounding community.”

Since the letter did not name the client, it did not specify whether the job losses pertained to the partnership that Genpact announced in January 2019 with Westport-based Bridgewater. At that point, the companies said that Bridgewater would outsource nearly 200 positions to Genpact, while keeping them in their South End offices, at 2200 Atlantic St.

In response to an inquiry from Hearst Connecticut Media about whether Bridgewater was the client referenced in the letter, Genpact said in a statement, “We don’t comment on client engagements. As a company, we are committed to ensuring everyone is treated fairly and respectfully.”

Hearst asked Bridgewater the same question.

“We understood our partnership with Genpact would evolve as we determined what would work best,” Bridgewater said in a statement. “We experienced many successes together and look forward to continuing our partnership.”

Thomas Madden, Stamford’s economic development director, described the layoffs as “a normal part of contracting between businesses.”

“When project dynamics change you will see layoffs of employees associated with the project,” Madden said. “The city continues to see a shifting business environment due to impacts from COVID-19.”

Through the agreement, Genpact took over significant parts of Bridgewater’s human resources, recruiting and finance operations. At the time, the outsourcing accounted for more than 10 percent of Bridgewater’s workforce statewide.

Bridgewater opened the offices at 2200 Atlantic in 2018 to accompany its headquarters in Westport.

A message left for Building and Land Technology, the owner of 2200 Atlantic and the developer of the mixed-use Harbor Point area that includes the property, was not immediately returned.

Started in 1997 as a unit of General Electric, Genpact became an independent company in 2005.

By the end of last year, it was operating with more than 90,000 employees worldwide and producing annual revenues of about $3.5 billion.

A number of other professional services firms maintain offices in Stamford, including the “Big Four” of Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.

Deloitte, KPMG and PWC have received multimillion-dollar state subsidies tied to their expansion in the city in the past few years. Supported by those funds, KPMG moved into new offices last year at 677 Washington Blvd.

Statewide, about 212,000 worked in professional and business services in September, down 3 percent from a year ago, according to the labor department.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Professional services firm Genpact, which has offices in this building at 2200 Atlantic St., in the South End of Stamford, has announced it plans to lay off about 185 Stamford-based employees at the end of December.