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July 2019

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Infy has found a new way to tackle attrition
Infy has found a new way to tackle attrition 768 432 SBNG

BENGALURU: Infosys’ board of directors is directly monitoring measures to reduce employee attrition, two people aware of the deliberations said.

The Bengaluru-based software services provider reported 23.4% attrition rate in the quarter ending June 30. This includes people who were let go during the quarter.

In the preceding three months, the attrition rate was 20.4%, while it stood at 23% in the year-ago period. The board typically discusses attrition rates at its meetings. The consistently high level is, however, making the board take stronger notice, the people said.

“The board is trying to understand why this is happening and address it. They do not see it as alarming yet,” one person told ET. “They would like the attrition rate to come down.”

Infosys has said that while the number of employees leaving the company was a concern, it was not affecting its services to clients. “The attrition (now) is high and the steps to decrease it have not yet shown an impact. The board wants to monitor the steps because it is a significant risk,” an Infosys executive with knowledge of the matter said. “If employees are constantly being changed on projects, the clients begin to get annoyed.”

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World’s top toymaker to move China factories to India, Vietnam
World’s top toymaker to move China factories to India, Vietnam 768 432 SBNG

NEW DELHI: The trade war is changing the landscape of toyland, with Hasbro Inc accelerating plans to shift away from China in favor of new plants in Vietnam and India.
The world’s largest publicly traded toymaker, which has licenses for popular franchises such as “Frozen” and the “Avengers,” said US goods produced in China could drop to about 50% by the end of 2020, from just under two-thirds currently.

“We’re increasingly spreading our footprint and adding new geographies for production globally ,”chief executive officer Brian Goldner said on a conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.”so we fell very good about where we’re going.”

Hasbro is the latest company changing its strategy amid heightened tensions between the US and China. There are growing signs that the global supply chain, long reliant on China as the factory for the world, is being permanently transformed. Some multinationals including Intel Corp are reviewing their production plans, while others are already speeding diversification to spread risk as widely as possible.

Goldner said China continues to be a high-quality, low-cost place to make toys, and “it will continue to be part of our global network in a major way,” according to the transcript of the call. Nonetheless, Hasbro said it’s already seen disruption because of trade worries.

Chief financial officer Deborah Thomas said some retailers briefly paused direct import orders from manufacturing locations during the second quarter as they watched the trade situation. Last year, 35% of Hasbro’s US and Canada revenue was delivered through such direct imports. It expects the percentage to decline this year, forcing Hasbro to take on more imports itself.

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Looming bankruptcy could spell endgame for Reliance Naval
Looming bankruptcy could spell endgame for Reliance Naval 768 432 SBNG

MUMBAI: Lenders led by IDBINSE -3.14 % Bank have turned down a resolution plan proposed by Reliance Naval & Engineering, which has not been servicing its more than Rs 9,000 crore of debt for several months now.

The lenders will now initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the company of the Anil Ambani-led RelianceNSE -2.19 % Group, said a bank executive involved in the matter. Lenders rejected the proposal for want of viability. With no proposal for an upfront equity investment or repayment of a part of the loan in default, lenders believe the firm is beyond resolution and liquidation may be the only option, the bank executive said.

“The RBI deadline to firm up a resolution plan for stressed companies has ended in early July and the proposal forwarded by Reliance Naval was not acceptable to lenders,” said the executive. “Reliance Naval was unwilling to make upfront payment and wanted banks to convert debt into equity as part of the resolution.”

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Key takeaways from Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony
Key takeaways from Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony 150 150 SBNG

Trump Russia Probe
Former special counsel Robert Mueller returns to the witness table following a break in his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Mueller testified about his report on Russian election interference. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller refused to play the part. Not for Republicans and not for Democrats.

In back-to-back hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, the former special counsel in the investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 presidential elections largely honored his pledge to stick to his 448-page report . He often answered questions in a single word.

Republicans tried to get Mueller to spell out the findings that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove any criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Democrats pressed him to expand on the conclusion in his report that he could not exonerate President Donald Trump on possible charges of obstruction of justice.

But Mueller left both sides wanting.

Some key takeaways from his testimony:

MUELLER WOULDN’T BE A MOUTHPIECE

Mueller wouldn’t even read from his own report. That made it challenging for Democrats who called him in hopes that the sheer force of hearing him say the words on television would be more powerful to many Americans than the written form.

But Mueller demurred, and Democrats had to read his words for him.

Similarly, Mueller wouldn’t answer specifically when Republicans repeatedly tried to question him about the origins of the Russia investigation, the use of secret surveillance warrants.

Mueller would only speak generally about Peter Strozk, a former FBI agent on his team who helped lead the investigation and exchanged anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 election with ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page.

Mueller left it to the partisans to do the parsing.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IS STILL HAPPENING

Mueller was, for him anyway, far more expansive when he was asked about Russia’s interference in U.S. elections. He also condemned Trump’s praise of WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

“Problematic is an understatement,” he said.

U.S. intelligence agencies and Mueller’s investigation determined Russian government entities were responsible for the hack and furnished the embarrassing correspondence to WikiLeaks in order to support Trump’s bid for the presidency. Authorities also found Russia engaged in an organized social media effort to sow discord among American voters.

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