News: Weekly Roundup (Oct 7-11): News you cannot miss

Strategic HR

Weekly Roundup (Oct 7-11): News you cannot miss

This week’s big news was the break off between Bharti and Wal-Mart: The two companies ended their five year old deal this Wednesday and are negotiating the ‘alimony’ after their break-up. Soon after the news of break off surfaced, news reports indicated that former Walmart India head Raj Jain has been roped in as an advisor by the Bharti Group.

This week’s big news was the break off between Bharti and Wal-Mart: The two companies ended their five year old deal this Wednesday and are negotiating the ‘alimony’ after their break-up. Soon after the news of break off surfaced, news reports indicated that former Walmart India head Raj Jain has been roped in as an advisor by the Bharti Group.

With lots of updates regarding new appointments and rejigs coming up, hiring and movements proved to be an area of focus this week. Former executive director of Punjab National Bank, S R Bansal has taken over as chairman and managing director of Mangalore-based Corporation Bank.

A global rejig in the top management at Unilever saw a number of Indian executives getting plum postings, Economic Times reported. According to this report, Sanjiv Kakkar (50), who was earlier executive VP Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, has been appointed as EVP NAMET (North Africa Middle East, Turkey). Dhaval Buch (51), who is currently senior VP supply chain Asia and Africa will be appointed as global chief procurement officer at Unilever effective January 2014. . Buch was earlier heading supply chain operations in India.

In another development, Rohit Jawa (47), has become the chairman and CEO of Unilever Philippines.

On the job and hiring front the picture doesn’t seem to be quite rosy. While an ASSOCHAM report pointed out that apart from institutes like the IIMs, most business schools are witnessing a lean placement season, and are seeing a similar dip in the number of students opting for fresh admissions, said the study by industry body Assocham. According to a Financial Express report, the study says that majority of B school graduates are unlikely to land plum jobs this year because of drop in campus hirings by a staggering 40 to 50 per cent.

Shadow of uncertainty looms large over Bharti Walmart’s 4000 employees. With the break up of Bharti and Wal-Mart’s joint venture in the cash-and-carry space, the future seems uncertain for Bharti Walmart’s 4,000 employees, a Financial Express report said.

On the Mergers & Acquisition front an update came in regarding the government’s new policy on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the telecom sector. The policy, which is expected to be announced this month, is unlikely to present any significant opportunities for India’s top mobile phone operators as the rules are too restrictive. The report says that according to the proposed rules a merged entity cannot have a market share of more than 35% in terms of both subscribers as well as adjusted gross revenue.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh changed his stand on privatization of Air India after strong opposition by political parties. According to an Economic Times report, Singh backtracked saying Government has "no intention" to do so. However, later he said that such a step might be required in the future but the time isn’t right now.

During the week BSNL cautioned job aspirants against fraudulent promises of employment in BSNL which certain individuals and companies are making. "These agencies or individuals are reported to have been seeking personal information and/or money in order to process the application," the company said.

In another development, Apollo Tyres Ltd and Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. are making a last-ditch effort to salvage their $2.5-billion acquisition deal and are likely to form joint teams to address the concerns surrounding it. Apollo’s acquisition of the US firm seemed in doubt over public disagreements between the two firms.

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Topics: Strategic HR, #Updates, #WeeklyRoundup

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