Indian IT firms recall staff from Bahrain

BANGALORE, INDIA: Even as Indian IT firms are trying to cope with the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, they are faced with another headache — the the political unrest in Bahrain.

Shaken by the developments in that country, Indian IT majors like TCS, Wipro and Infosys have started recalling their employees from the island nation.

TCS has called back its 20 employees from Bahrain, while Infosys has withdrawn its 25 employees and their dependents from there.

Wipro, which has over 40 employees in Bahrain had earlier recalled 25 employees working in sensitive areas. Around 17 expatriate employees (36 people including defendants) have already returned to India.

Briefing media about the developments Wipro's senior vice president and business head for India and Middle East, Anand Sankaran said the developments in Bahrain are unfortunate.

“We are closely monitoring the situation there... We are concerned about the safety of our employees and their families and are in constant touch with them,” he said.

He said the remaining employees continue to operate in Bahrain as of now and are safe.

“They have been advised to take adequate precautions based on the situation on the ground. We are also in constant touch with our clients and have invoked our business continuity plans to ensure work continues with minimal disruption. We are committed to Bahrain, and will continue our business operations in Bahrain,” he added.

Bahrain has nearly 3.5 lakh Indians making them the single largest expatriate community in the tiny GCC country.