The Hindu Business Line : Satyamites abroad fear job loss, legal tangles

Hyderabad, Jan. 12 Besides living a in a state of uncertainty, Saytamites working on-site abroad are a worried lot due to legal complications even as the Government-constituted board took charge of the beleaguered IT giant.

While fears of sudden collapse seem to have been put on hold temporarily, employees doubt how far the Government would be able to put the company back on track. “We have come here on H1 visas to work for the clients of our company. If we are to lose the job, it is illegal to stay here as we are here on behalf of our employer,” Ms Lalitha (name changed), a Satyam employee, told Business Line over phone from San Diego, US.

“Some have already applied for transfer visas (to work for other companies) in consultation with their friends working for other companies, as rushing back to India may not be so easy,” she said.

A more immediate concern is the salary. “The payments here are generally based on a week’s work. Things will be more clear this weekend,” said Mr A. Chatterjee, another Satyam employee currently in the US.

Indians working in different locations in the US and Europe are in constant touch with each other, he added. “Though it is not clearly manifested yet, we feel some element of stigma towards us from the locals here due to the alleged fraud as they also tend to loose jobs,” he added.

Who is in control?

Back home, the presence of the Government-nominated board members in Hyderabad on Monday sent some positive feelers to the employees. “Though the orphaned feeling is now very much among us, the fact that somebody is to take control has certainly come as a great relief. But the organisation is so big that there is total confusion on the part of our supervisors as to who is in control,” a senior HR functionary said.

The fear of job loss, however, is very much alive. “If our founder’s declaration that the company has been running on a mere 3 per cent operating margins is true, even the Government cannot save us as the business may not be viable. Surely, we cannot be paid salaries by the Government,” said Mr Thomas, who joined Satyam six months back after quitting a job paying Rs 12 lakh per annum in a Bangalore-based IT major.