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Follow UsBANGALORE, INDIA: Indian techies evacuated from Japan in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and Tsunami are facing a new dilemma. It is about whether to return to work to be on board or face the risk of being an employee in free pool.
Since it is almost three weeks since the disaster struck, IT services companies are reported to be facing pressure from their clients in Japan to bring back employees. In turn, employees are being asked to return to Japan though unofficially.
"I just can't decide on going back there. The situation has become even more riskier in Tokyo now. But our company wants all of us to go back," revealed an techie with a leading services company who did not want to be identified.
"I feel lucky that I was evacuated by our company by a special flight. But there is persistent pressure from work managers to get back to Japan. Since I am firm on not going back, at least for now, I don't know what is in store for me," she added.
Also read: Kerala techies asked to return to work in Japan
L&T Infotech which has contract with Nokia Siemens, brought back 120 plus employees from Tokyo two weeks back. Ever since, a couple of employees have already reported to have opted to fly back despite the current situation there.
Infosys in a statements said that it had over 250 employees both locals and those from India. "After thoroughly assessing the stability of the situation in Japan, most of our employees have since returned to support clients. The safety of our employees is of utmost importance and we are continuing to monitor the situation".
"All assessments indicate that Tokyo and other areas where Infosys has clients are safe and business has returned to normal. Clients are happy to see that our employees returned quickly with minimal disruptions to ongoing projects and work," the statment added.
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According to an IANS report Kerala-based IT companies too have asked 100-odd employees unofficially to return to work in Japan. According to the report nearly half-a-dozen companies have their working operations in Japan.
"I have been told the Japanese staff working in my office have returned to work, and that I too should return," an IT professional, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
HCL in a communication sent to CIOL said Tokyo is slowly returning back to normalcy with many of its customers having already started or planning to start work in full steam by the end of this fortnight. Employees from various nationalities servicing them have begun to return back after evacuation to their home countries or other cities in Japan.
The company said that it was watching this development closely. “While we have ensured all our Japan-based employees are in safe locations (in India/Japan or elsewhere) currently, as life and business returns to normalcy in the days to come, we will judge the scenario on-ground and create an operations restoration plan best aligned to their interests".
Commenting on the future of Indian services companies post the Japan disaster veteran technology journalist Anand Parthasarathy observed that the recent environmental disaster has forced Indian IT service companies to bring back their staff working in Japan, since the situation there is clearly not conducive to doing work there and may even be life threatening.
“However, it is common knowledge within the Indian industry that while entry into the Japanese technology solutions and service business is not easy, those who do succeed in gaining a foothold, end up with strong relationships with Japanese clients,” he said.