IT firms cutting corners,pull off cab services

Hyderabad: After the layoffs of thousands of IT employees, the companies are looking for grey areas for cost cutting due to cash crunch. About 60 per cent of the IT companies, including Capgemini,

Tech Mahindra and Infosys, have withdrawn cab services for their employees. This has forced the employees to rely on private cabs leaving a hole in their wallets. This has raised a concern, especially amongst women employees as it is claimed that some of the IT companies are not even providing transport for the graveyard shift.

“Our company used to provide 80 cabs for transport but for last two months we have been deprived of cab services. And the scenario has changed for the employees who work on night shifts as well. They are supposed to request for a cab and once that is approved only then they get a transport. And this is required to be done on a day-to-day basis, which is very inconvenient for us,”said an exasperated woman employee of Capgemini.

Much to the employees’ dismay, the traffic inflow around the IT area has increased tremendously due to the deteriorated roads and the recent white topping construction on the ISB road. “We encounter heavy traffic during the peak hours in Gachibowli and it is worse during the monsoon season.

Sometimes to avoid traffic, I take the Outer Ring Road (ORR) route to my office but it is twice the distance. I have no other option but to spend most of my salary on travelling,” said Vrijesh an employee at Microsoft.

Speaking about the discontinuing cab services in IT companies, Syed Nizamuddin, president of Telangana State Cabs and Bus Operators’ Association, said: “Almost 60 per cent of the IT companies have removed their transport services as a part of cost cutting. This has started with Deloitte that took a decision to remove 100 vehicles as transport for their employees.”
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Syed Nizamuddin said, “Since then many other companies also took the same decision. Instead these companies are now preferring either for 12-seater or 22-seater vehicles that will pick-up and drop employees at a common point.”

Most of the IT companies have also banished basic sanitation facilities for women in the name of austerity, according to Kiran Chandra, founder member, Forum of IT Professionals. He further said, “By removing the cab services especially in the night they are putting women employees in a difficult position.

If they make an employee work overtime they at least need to make sure that the person is reaching home safely.” These companies are even depriving their employees of basic amenities like coffee and tea that work as avenues to increase creativity, he added.