Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Aztec Software cuts 10 per cent staff

Aztec Software and Technology Services Ltd has cut its workforce by 10 per cent due to uncertainty of business, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

She said around 35-40 of the firm's 350 employees had been asked to go over last weekend.

Aztec's shares were up 1.22 per cent at 33.10 rupees in morning deals at the Bombay Stock Exchange while the benchmark index was up 0.23 per cent.

Aztec later said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the downsizing was to align staff capacity to immediate demand.

"...(this was) keeping in view the downturn of the market made worse due to the recent events in the United States and also to ensure a balance in the skill mix to be in line with the company's strategy to address the enterprise customers," the statement said.

"The company...is confident that several of its initiatives are proceeding in the right direction and therefore the medium term outlook continues to remain strong," it said.

The Economic Times newspaper on Wednesday quoted Aztec's chairman S Parthasarthy as saying it was taking longer to acquire customers in the United States and that decisions to outsource projects had almost frozen.

He said Aztec was adopting the alliance strategy -- partnering with consultants to offer the cost advantage of the Indian offshore services model, as breaking into new accounts by itself was getting difficult.

Aztec is one of few Indian software firms that has laid off employees recently.

Unlisted Mahindra-British Telecom said last month it plans to lay off about 300 employees, or about a tenth of its workforce, but cited underperformance as the reason.

Animation software company Pentamedia Graphics Ltd also said last month it asked 107 out of a total 1,500 creative professionals to leave.

Privately-held Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd recently announced a 20 per cent cut in salaries, but said it did not plan to sack staff.

Telecom equipment maker Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd said in July it will lay off 100 of its 130 employees in software services joint venture with Australian tycoon Kerry Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings.

But industry sources say most of the bigger Indian software companies are still hiring on, though cautiously.

Tell us what you think of this report