NEW DELHI, INDIA: Time of panic in the high-end job sector is far from being over. The post-Diwali corporate India may resort to more job cuts to meet the challenges of the tough time caused by the global financial turmoil, warns Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

According to its latest report, Indian firms are likely to lay off 25 to 30 per cent of the work force in the next 10 days and the most affect segments would be IT-enabled services (ITeS/BPO), steel, cement, construction, real estate, aviation, and financial services sectors.

“HR heads of majority of steel, cement, ITeS/BPO, financial and brokerage services including construction, real estate and aviation have drawn up conclusive plans to curtail their workforce by 25 to 30%, announcements for which is likely in next 10 days or so,” said ASSOCHAM president Sajjan Jindal, while releasing the ‘Job scenario post-Diwali’ analysis of the organization.

"Employers have no other alternatives as part of their corporate strategy... for sustaining their operations with squeezed margins (even) after drastic cost cutting measures," the ASSOCHAM statement said.

The chamber said that the negative sentiments in the seven sectors could be turned into opportunities provided the Reserve Bank discontinues with its tight monetary policy and cut the interests rates by at least three per cent.

Indian Prime MInister Manmohan Singh had asked the country to be prepared to face slower economic growth temporarily.