HCL Tech says no biz impact or hiring slowdown in Sri Lanka amid economic crisis
Daily FT: HCL Tech employs 2,000 people in the region. Last month, the company faced a hiccup when power went off for 13 hours. With credit lines from the Indian Government, and supplies that are coming in, power cuts have now been reduced to three to four hours. In the meantime, the company has adjusted the wages of people and adjusted it to inflation.
Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, HCL Technologies said that it has not seen any business impact on its deliverables, or any slowdown in hiring in the region, said a top executive. HCL Tech employs 2000 people in the region.
Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis, with soaring inflation, fuel shortages and power cuts. The rising cost of living has triggered country-wide protests, with demand growing for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who comes from the powerful Rajapaksa clan, to step down.
HCL Tech Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) V.V. Apparao, who spoke to media persons on 21 April after announcing FY22 results, said: “The Sri Lanka situation is twofold. One is inflation that is running high and second is (lack of) the essential supplies especially diesel for generating power.”
Last month, the company faced a hiccup when power went off for 13 hours. However, Apparao said that with credit lines from the Indian Government, and supplies that are coming in, power cuts have now been reduced to three to four hours.
In the meantime, the company has adjusted the wages of people and adjusted it to inflation. “So those from an employee standpoint, they have been taken care of. We are not seeing any missing deliverables,” Apparao said.
The company is operating to 50-60% capacity in its offices in Sri Lanka. “We are treating it like a BCP situation and then providing all the support. And we are even ready in case there is any emergency, we are ready to airlift our people to Indian locations. But right now, it is business as usual. The hiccups are there, but not so much that it disrupts our business at this point in time,” Apparao said.
On whether the company would pause its expansion in the region, Apparao said that so far, the company has not seen any slowdown in terms of recruitment right now.
OSL take:
The statement by HCL is a vote of confidence on Sri Lanka’s economic resilience. The country’s economy has shown great resilience to external and internal challenges through the years and is once more on the path to recovery after facing the pandemic and challenges that followed. While key economic sectors posted a growth during the pandemic period, private sector businesses recorded profits indicating the strength and growth momentum of Sri Lanka’s economy. The country’s ongoing development programme and the move to position Sri Lanka as a growing business destination in the South Asian region have expanded the business/investment opportunities in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/04052022/Z_1 |