Author: HR Talk

A Shenzhen-based tech company, Ista360, has taken an unusual route to promote workplace wellness—paying employees to lose weight. The initiative has collectively helped its staff shed more than 950 kilograms. As part of its annual health challenge, the company rewards employees with ₹5,000 for every half kilogram lost. On the flip side, those who gain weight are required to return a set amount for every half kilogram regained. The program has turned into a strong motivator. One employee reportedly lost 20 kilograms in just three months through disciplined diet and exercise, walking away with a payout of ₹2.47 lakh. This…

Oracle has reportedly begun layoffs in India, weeks after reports surfaced that the company planned to trim about 10% of its workforce across India, Canada, and the US. In India, the affected employees are being offered severance of 15 days’ salary for each year of service, along with continued insurance benefits for up to a year. Media reports suggest that at least 100 employees have been let go so far, primarily from the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS) teams. According to sources, the company attributed the cuts to efforts to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies, and…

Amazon is implementing stricter expense policies by requiring employees to report what portion of their company-issued phone usage is work-related. The move affects the $50 monthly mobile reimbursement, which will now be adjusted according to personal use. The change is part of CEO Andy Jassy’s ongoing “hardcore culture reset”, reshaping workplace policies since he succeeded Jeff Bezos. According to a Business Insider investigation, Amazon Web Services staff are now expected to break down phone usage between personal and professional activities, with reimbursements reduced proportionally for non-work use. The policy reflects Amazon’s broader push for frugality. Employees are also required to…

The Supreme Court of India has issued a landmark directive requiring all workplaces with more than ten employees to establish Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, 2013. The move aims to close long-standing enforcement gaps and ensure complaints of sexual harassment are addressed promptly and fairly. The ruling reinforces the framework originally set out in the Vishaka Guidelines of 1997 and reiterates the binding obligations under the POSH Act. In December 2024, the Court had flagged inconsistent implementation, especially in smaller organisations and regional offices. The latest order makes compliance mandatory and non-negotiable. State-level…

San Francisco: Salesforce has eliminated 4,000 roles in its customer-support division, reducing the team from 9,000 to 5,000 employees—a nearly 45 per cent reduction in its support workforce. The move reflects the company’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) agents, which now handle a significant portion of customer interactions. Currently, Salesforce’s AI systems manage half of all customer conversations, with human agents responsible for the remainder. This shift has enabled the company to restructure support operations and reduce staffing needs. The company is also leveraging AI to address long-standing sales challenges. Over the past 26 years, Salesforce had accumulated more…

Atlassian, the team collaboration and productivity software company behind Jira, Confluence, and Loom, is significantly expanding its presence in India with a new research and development (R&D) centre in Bengaluru, four times the size of its existing office in the city. Since 2018, Atlassian’s India workforce has grown from 60 to over 2,500 employees, making it the company’s largest team outside Australia and the US. Nearly 75 per cent of its India employees are in R&D roles, working on strategic areas such as enterprise search, commerce, data residency, and customer success. India has become a cornerstone of Atlassian’s global growth…

Head Digital Works, the parent company of A23 Rummy, A23 Poker, and Cricket.com, has cut nearly two-thirds of its workforce in the wake of India’s new online gaming restrictions. About 500 employees have been laid off, reducing the company’s headcount to roughly 200, most of whom are now focused on core business operations. The layoffs were announced during a company-wide town hall, marking one of the largest workforce reductions in India’s gaming sector this year. The move comes after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, introduced a blanket ban on real-money gaming (RMG) across the country. The…

Mobile Premier League (MPL), one of India’s largest online gaming platforms, is set to lay off nearly 60 per cent of its local workforce, impacting around 300 employees. The decision follows the Indian government’s ban on all real-money online games under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, signed into law on 22 August. The legislation prohibits online games involving monetary stakes, irrespective of whether they are skill-based or chance-based. The sweeping ban has forced MPL and other gaming operators to suspend real-money offerings, marking one of the sharpest disruptions the sector has witnessed. The layoffs will affect…

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has resumed its annual salary hikes, with most employees slated to receive increments in the range of 4.5 to 7 per cent. Exceptional performers are expected to secure double-digit increases of at least 10 per cent. The hikes will take effect this month, September 2025. Originally, these increments were scheduled for April 2025, but TCS had postponed them due to global uncertainties. The newly announced hikes align with the salary bands of the past few years. Increments for senior managers (C3 band) are yet to be disclosed. The announcement follows TCS’s July plan to reduce its…

San Francisco: Daksh Gupta, CEO of Greptile, a US-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, is making headlines with an unconventional recruitment strategy. The company is offering freshers a chance to earn up to Rs 1.5 crore annually, provided they commit to a 12-hour in-office workday and do not request remote work. Greptile’s compensation package is substantial: freshers can earn a basic salary ranging from Rs 1.23 crore to Rs 1.59 crore, along with equity valued between Rs 1.15 crore and Rs 1.59 crore. Experienced professionals with over seven years in the industry are offered a base pay of Rs 2.12 crore…