The recession proving to be helpful for BPO folks

The BPO industry will beat the odds despite the recession, say observers. In fact, they feel  the meltdown will prove advantageous for BPOs.

Most BPO in India, feels more companies in the US and Europe will now opt for outsourcing to cut costs.

In 24 to 36 months, many companies which were hesitant to outsource, may do so now. Only firing people will not help, there needs to be a structural change. Such companies will then look towards outsourcing which will bring more business to the BPOs in India.

The politicians who were objecting to outsourcing too will have to change their stand.

The downtrend in jobs was arrested to a certain extent in January. However, it may be a while before we see a recovery.

The job index for ITES and BPO industry moved up by 28 per cent in January.

Its seen that the industry has started hiring again.

Recruitment is taking place depending on the need. We now see many engineers among the applicants for BPO jobs. Perhaps, this is because the IT industry is faring badly.

The only catch is that BPO salaries are not as fancy as before.

The Overall Job Index for the country inched up from 697 in December 2008 to 738 in January 2009, an increase of 5% in new jobs.

How many times have you dreamt of owning a luxury car, well I have always done that. Guess what now is a chance to make your dream come true, if you’re rich enough and not like me though.

You can pick up a six-month old beauty for half the price of a new one.
Blame it on the economy, the pink slips, salary cuts and the suddenly-unrealistic EMIs that’s leading people to drop their BMWs, Mercedes and Land Cruisers like hot bricks.

While some prefer to use their company transport, others have gone in for smaller cars. “I gave up my Skoda for Rs 4.5 lakh which I bought for Rs 6 lakh five months ago. And now I own a Maruti. I’ll buy a luxury car when the market improves,” said Bopaiah, a software professional.
No buyers
As a result, it’s raining cars at used-car showrooms in the city (Bangalore).

“A used BMW car that was Rs 65 lakh last year is for sale at Rs 45 lakh. A Mercedes Benz E series that ranged from Rs 45 to Rs 60 lakh is now available for Rs 30 to Rs 35 lakh. Honda Accord that was above Rs 19 lakh is available for around Rs 10 lakh. Similarly, a Toyota Corolla that cost between Rs 14-15 lakh has come down to Rs 8-plus lakh,”

Few takers for new cars
(Car sales statistics in India, year-on-year)
Car sales declined 3.2 per cent with 1.10 lakh car sale in Jan 2009
Hyundai saw a 13.5 per cent decrease in sales
Tata Motors witnessed 9 per cent decline in its sales
Honda Siel cars sales fell by 26 per cent

Old or new?
Auto consultants say it’s better to invest in new cars than used ones. “Prices of new vehicles have come down and secondly, the interest rate on loans for used cars is much higher. The depreciation value drops on the purchase of a used car,” but what the hell am not rich enough to own one, so I jus thought you might want to know.