ASSOCHAM threatens that Indian firms may lay off 25% of their workers in the next 10 days, according to Expressindia. This seems a bit excessive even by my apparently ghoulish attitude to the current recession/collapse. I’m not sure what this means or if it is simply posturing by Industry. A quarter of your workforce is a large number, especially if it is done across all industries.
Anyone have any insight as to what is happening in India with this? I’m seeing things from across the globe, and have never been there. It’s hard to see what is real news and what is not.
Even if you buy the numbers at Shadow Stats on “real” unemployment being 75% higher than the BLS numbers, that would still give us an unemployment rate of around 18% come end of next year, according to the pessimistic figures I’m seeing from Dohmen.
However, he is currently warning that the collapse will disproportionately affect the developing world. Right now, that includes a good bit of the Indian economy. Outsourcing, it appears, seemed like a great idea but it puts your economy at the mercy of the outsourcing country. When America stops buying, Nike simply cancels orders at factories in China. The Chinese are then left to figure out how to layoff all their workers.
I do think that the Indians can benefit from the Secret Rules of Career Success as much as westerners. The stratification of their society makes it more difficult, of course, since merit or capability isn’t always what matters.