Brain drain: nearly 4,500 left Satyam

While much focus was on the money drained out in the corporate fraud that rocked Satyam Computer Services, there was also a big brain drain in the December 2008 to February 2009 period, when the scandal moved from a first whiff into a stench that rattled its employees.

While much focus was on the money drained out in the corporate fraud that rocked Satyam Computer Services, there was also a big brain drain in the December 2008 to February 2009 period, when the scandal moved from a first whiff into a stench that rattled its employees.

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As many as 4,493 employees left the company during the period, with 924 of them moving on in December itself. That fell to 746 next month as disgraced chairman Ramalinga Raju resigned, but February saw 1,602 exits as the effects of the scandal sank in.

Satyam, now under Tech Mahindra’s control, told stock exchanges that its standalone employee strength at the end of March was 41,622, down from 46,115 a quarter earlier.

Of the total attritions, the percentage of associate attritions for the quarter ended December 31 for Satyam BPO —one of Satyam’s largest subsidiaries—stood at 13.99 per cent. It was 2.52 per cent in January and 3.64 per cent in February.

“I expect the attrition rate to reduce after being acquired by Tech Mahindra. However the company would have to look at cutting costs,” said Harit Shah, analyst at Angel Broking.