In the recent past, given the disruptions caused across the Indian market on account of COVID-19, corporate restructuring, advent of reliable artificial intelligence tools and the economic slow-down, several organisations were forced to downsize their workforce. Organisations in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries which upscaled their workforce particularly in the wake of the pandemic, are now seen struggling to retain talent. Despite the financial turmoil, some companies saw a huge upsurge in funding and consequently, hiring, with a move towards digitisation during the pandemic. Sustenance of workforce, however, dwindled on account of several reasons including funding winter and lowered demand from customers. Employers were forced to re-adjust their cost structures to available demand. Reports suggest that close to twenty-four thousand employees were let go in the previous year from across industries in the private sector including information technology, ed-tech, e-commerce and consumer services companies – unicorns and soonicorns included. Given the socialist proclivity in India, as disgruntled workforce could potentially lead to a disruptive and powerful force in these scenarios, balancing complex relationships between employees and management, employers and government, while complying with local laws, becomes crucial.
Please click here to read the full article by Gerald Manoharan and Sonakshi Das, published in ET Insights.
Gerald (Jerry) has over 20 years of experience as a corporate commercial lawyer and has worked with several clients on diverse matters, including investments, corporate advisory, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, contracting, dispute advisory and real estate.