Internal mail in Tech Company creates panic
By NRM
 
Last Monday was just like any normal working day at the QA Labs division of UST Global, one of the leading software companies in Technopark Trivandrum, Kerala till some employees got a mail with a subject ‘Important Message’. UST Global had acquired the Canadian company QA Labs in 2006,  and now the company is in the process of a reorganisation.  As with restructures in any organization, there have been job losses and some nervous employees.

More than 50 people (unofficial figures are much higher though) have already been asked to leave the company which has about 5500 employees and further retrenchment is expected. The Techies were in this frame of mind when this mail comes in.
 
Addressed to all the employees of QA Labs, the mail announced the downsizing of QAL groups to 125 from current strength of 450. All those who joined the company after May 26, 2004 were asked to meet Manu Balachander who is the Regional Director of the QAL division in UST. According to the mail, the employees will get 2 months severance pay. The mail also explains the current circumstances of the company, ‘We are in a tough situation as you all know.  We postponed this many times, but due to high pressure from higher authority, we have to think again about this unfortunate thing.  Please bear with us.’ The mail was also copied to Arun Narayan, VP Global Services.
 
It took some time for the shock to sink in. There were panicky phone calls in a mood of despair. Meanwhile Manu, who also got this email, was reportedly shocked to see a mail on his behalf. According to people on the floor, even before Manu could react, he was flooded with calls and mails.
 
It took some time for everyone to gather their wits and then see that the mail was sent by ‘Subs Criber’  (qalgroups@yahoo.com) to QAL@ust-global.com, which was the QA Labs group ID. Everybody heaved a  sigh of relief when Manu mailed saying it was a fake email and assured that there was no truth in the mail. The source IP Address (220.226.138.74) of the mail was traced to a Reliance Netconnect user in Chennai and it’s just a matter of time before action is taken against this person who wanted to create some problems in the company.
 
Footnote: There are unconfirmed reports that the Regional Director has put in his papers following the reorg.

Techgoss note: UST Global  has 5500 employees and is a leading provider of end-to-end IT services and solutions for the Global 2000 market. UST Global offers a Client-centric Fully Integrated Engagement Model that provides the optimal mix of senior local resources with the cost, scale and quality advantages of offshore operations for each client. The company is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.  It has huge offices in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.  They are certified by KPMG as an SEI-CMMI and PCMM Level 5 company.  Their  centers in India are now ISO 27001 certified.