Satyam puts 400 benched staff back to work

Ending the uncertainty for many employees, Satyam Computer Services has recalled 400 staff, who had been benched, to active service.

Just a week ago Tech Mahindra, the new owner of scam-hit Satyam, had put 8,000-10,000 surplus employees of the IT firm under a virtual pool programme, where an employee is retained but paid only part of his or her salary. The move was aimed at addressing 'non-billable' staff costs while retaining talent.

Effective from this month, the programme is applicable to those based in India and allows associates to take time off from work on a reduced pay structure while they continue to retain their employment. Under, the programme they were paid basic salary, provident fund and medical insurance.

The associates (as they are referred to by the company) had received sabbatical letters as part of the VPP, settling for a 'basic' pay in addition to provident fund and medical insurance. Now, some 380 of them have been recalled on the strength of new business contracts that the company has won.

''About 400 associates of the 10,000 identified staff for VPP have been called back and are now busily occupied with new business contracts, primarily in application development and maintenance services (ADMS), integrated engineering and SAP implementation services,'' a Satyam spokesperson told Business Standard.

At the same time, cross-sharing of Satyam personnel with Tech Mahindra has already begun, as the company is transferring some of its employees to Tech Mahindra in order to fill up vacancies there, according to reports.

About 400 Satyam employees have been redeployed in Tech Mahindra offices so far. A further 1,000 such transfers are on the cards in the coming days, according to a Financial Chronicle report.