FIRST Lehman brothers declared bankruptcy. Then Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America.

Insurance company AIG went underwater (but was bailed out by the Federal Reseve).

Read: Why Lehman and Merrill fell

A key fallout: job loss.

Not just in the US, but in India, too. Jobs in the India offices of the Lehman Brothers will go. Merrill Lynch and AIG may cut down their offshore branches. IT companies may lose contracts.

So, should working professionals be worried? According to Marcel R Parker, Chairman IKYA Human Capital Solutions Pvt Ltd, the answer is no.

"The after effects will be felt by the IT, BPO and finance and investment sectors, but they won’t be very severe," he suggests. These are his predictions.

Job cuts
These sectors will see job cuts: IT, BPO, finance/investment sectors.

"Levels (or grades of employees), which may be affected most, initially, will be at the middle and junior levels, as seniors in investment banking and IT move as teams," says Marcel. But that is no certainty because even some top level guys like senior investment bankers and senior accountants have been fired.

New jobs
The Indian financial and technology sectors are growing at a healthy pace and there will be enough jobs for all those people who have lost their jobs. However, Parker says that it would take at least six to eight months for these people to find alternate employment. Those with marketable skills will be hired faster. "For instance, in the IT industry marketable skills would be all your technology skills, basically the skills sets which would prove useful for the company," adds Parker.

See: Make yourself valuable to the organisation

What about people without such skills? "They will remain unemployed for a longer period," he adds.

"Costs are subjective and situational, but you are in a positon to get the best deals when you are already in a job, rather than when unemployed and looking for a job."

As for salaries, those who have lost their jobs must be prepared for a 15-20 per cent cut as compared to what they earned earlier. "Anyways, Lehman salaries were considered above market average for comparable skills," he adds.

Photograph: Vipurva Parikh
(Photograph used for illustrative purposes only)

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e-mail: Suraj Anand

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