Bucking the current trend of job lay-offs and salary cuts worldwide, the RPG Group said on Friday its hiring plans for this fiscal is on track and has already hired 34 interns.
"Our hiring plans are very much on track. This year, we hired 34 interns who have worked with various group companies over the summer," RPG Enterprises president corporate development and human resources Arvind Agrawal told PTI.
They would be associated with RPG Enterprises and its group companies from May 2009, he added.
Last year, the company had hired 30 summer interns.
Asked whether the group, with a present headcount of 42,000, was mulling wage-cuts or lay-offs, Agrawal said, "We take a decision on increments and on hiking or trimming salaries in July, like we do every year. We still have 7-8 months to go." With recession plaguing economies across the world, leading to a general economic slowdown, many corporates have resorted to trimming of salaries, perks and allowances, besides issuing pink slips to their employees. In October, Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways had laid off 1,900 of the crew, which it was later forced to take back. Loss-making Kingfisher Airlines too sacked 300 of its employees and has also effected a 90 per cent cut in salaries of its 50 trainee pilots. American Express, early last month, downsized its workforce in India by about 100 employees, joining the league of companies, which have already resorted to cost-cutting to tide over the current downturn. Spencer's Retail targets Rs 1,250 crore (Rs 12.5 billion) revenue: According to another report, RPG group company Spencer's Retail plans to scale up its hypermarts chain to 400 and is targeting a turnover of Rs 1,250 crore by March-end. The company also said it would continue to pursue its existing expansion plans and that the global economic meltdown would not impact it significantly. "We are on track to have 400 hypermarts and achieve a turnover of Rs 1,250 crore by end-march," a company spokesperson told PTI. In FY'08, Spencer's clocked a turnover of Rs 820 crore (Rs 8.2 billion).
"We are focusing on setting up more hypermarts across the country," he said. Spencer's Retail at present has 32 large-format stores in 66 cities pan-India, spread over 1.5 million square feet. The retail chain has earmarked a Rs 1,500-crore (Rs 15-billion) investment for the expansion over a two-year period up to March 2009. The spokesperson said upmarket stores such as Spencer's would not be affected due to the present global scenario. "Upmarket stores such as Spencer's, which are not price-driven as much as others, will not be impacted by inflation and the global meltdown," he said. The ones most likely to be affected are retail chains such as discount stores, catering to the low-income group, he said. Consumer spending is likely to shift from luxury goods to essentials with a slowdown in the economic cycle impacting demand negatively.
