It’s been a whirlwind week in the tech world, marked by regulatory crackdowns, corporate rebrands, layoffs, and evolving workplace policies. SEBI hit stock market influencer Asmita Patel with a hefty Rs 50 crore fine, while Infosys made headlines for laying off campus recruits. Zomato unveiled plans to rename itself Eternal Ltd., signaling a major brand shift. TCS reduced variable pay for senior employees for the second consecutive quarter, and Dell announced a return to five-day work-from-office policies.
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These and more in top tech news of the week.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman meets IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently met with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss India’s AI strategy and clarify his earlier “hopeless” remark about AI development. During the meeting, Altman expressed his willingness to collaborate with India on building a robust AI ecosystem, including GPUs, models, and applications. Vaishnaw emphasized India’s cost-efficient technological advancements, citing the Chandrayaan 3 mission as an example.
Altman highlighted India as OpenAI’s second-largest market, noting that the company has tripled its user base in the country over the past year. The meeting signals a potential partnership between OpenAI and India, aligned with India’s vision of democratizing technology.
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SEBI fines stock market influencer Asmita Patel Rs 50 crore
Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has confiscated Rs 53.67 crore from Asmita Patel Global School of Trading Pvt Ltd and five other entities. Known for its stock market training programs, Asmita Patel Global School of Trading offers online courses focused on trading and investments. The institute, led by the self-styled “Options Queen” and “She Wolf of the Stock Market,” offers popular courses such as “Let’s Make India Trade” (LMIT), “Master’s in Price Action Trading” (MPAT), and “Options Multiplier” (OM). The market regulator has sent an interim order directing the school, Asmita Jitesh Patel, and Jitesh Jethalal Patel to cease offering unregistered investment advisory and research analyst services. The entities have also been barred from accessing the securities market.
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Infosys cuts 700 jobs at Mysuru campus
Infosys has allegedly laid off around 700 campus recruits who joined the company in October 2024, according to the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an organization advocating for the welfare of IT and ITES employees. “In a shocking and unethical move, Infosys has started forcefully laying off approximately 700 campus recruits who were onboarded just a few months ago,” said Harpreet Singh Saluja, NITES president, who plans to file a formal complaint with India’s Labour Ministry.
However, Infosys has stated that the actual number is closer to 350. The layoffs reportedly occurred after multiple failed attempts by employees to clear internal assessments.
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Zomato changes its parent company name to Eternal
Zomato is preparing for a significant rebrand. Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal revealed in a letter to shareholders that the board of directors has approved a resolution to rename the company Eternal Ltd. The proposed change, now pending shareholder approval, includes transitioning the corporate website from zomato.com to eternal.com and updating the stock ticker from ZOMATO to ETERNAL. According to Goyal, Eternal Ltd. will become the parent entity overseeing Zomato’s four core businesses: Zomato, Blinkit, Hyperpure, and District. Goyal also shared the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), expanding the reach of the rebranding update.
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TCS cuts variable pay for senior employees
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reportedly reduced the quarterly variable pay for its senior employees for the October-December quarter, despite adherence to the strict work-from-office policy, according to MoneyControl. This is the second consecutive quarter that TCS has cut variable pay for senior staff. During the July-September 2024 quarter, some employees received only 20-40% of their quarterly variable allowances (QVA), while others received none. In contrast, nearly 70% of the QVA was distributed during Q1 FY25.
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Dell makes 5-day work from the office compulsory
Dell CEO Michael Dell has announced the end of the company’s hybrid and remote work policy for employees residing near Dell offices. Starting March 3rd, all employees living within approximately an hour of a Dell office will be required to work on-site five days a week, according to an email obtained by Business Insider. Employees living farther away will still be allowed to work remotely, but only with explicit approval from three senior leaders: the SVP, ELT, and COO. Without this approval, they will not qualify for promotions during the company’s annual pay planning process, as outlined in an internal FAQ document.
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Google loses $200 billion-plus in market value
Google parent Alphabet experienced one of its worst trading days on February 5, as its stock plunged 8% following a mixed earnings report. While Alphabet surpassed Wall Street’s profit expectations, it fell short on revenue, triggering investor concerns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index dipped 0.7% shortly after the market opened, with Alphabet leading the losses.
This sharp decline wiped out as much as $211 billion in market value for the company, marking its largest single-day percentage drop since October 2023 and its biggest one-day loss in value to date.
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Amazon’s ‘leaked memo’ to AWS sales managers
Amazon’s AWS division has introduced new guidelines, requiring sales managers to oversee at least eight direct reports, up from six previously. This move, part of CEO Andy Jassy’s effort to boost the ratio of individual contributors, aims to streamline decision-making and reduce costs following a pandemic-era hiring surge. “I hate bureaucracy,” Jassy said during a November all-hands meeting, addressing employee concerns about the reorganization. The CEO attributed the changes to Amazon’s pandemic-era hiring spree, which he said “stretched” the company and led to slower decision-making.
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