Sterlite Technologies Lays Off Nearly 100 Employees Amid Business Pressures: Report

Pune-based Sterlite Technologies (STL) released about 100 employees, including senior officials, as part of a restructuring plan. The Vedanta Group company has been facing business pressure which prompted it to sell off its telecom and software units to a US-based firm earlier this year.

"Close to 100 individuals were asked to leave as the company is facing a tough time. The move is aimed at cutting operational cost, with non-core functions principally taking a hit," an industry executive, directly aware of the matter, told ET.

STL is an end-to-end optic-fibre cable manufacturer, which offers enterprise LAN, fibre-to-the-home and 5G solutions.

This lay off comes amid tepid spending from private sector on optical networks and stiff competition from multinationals such as Ciena and Nokia on its home turf, according to experts.

Senior executives, who have exited the company, include group chief marketing officer Manish Sinha, chief financial officer Pankaj Aggarwall, chief information officer Manuj Desai and research and development head Jitendra Balakrishnan. The company had informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about Sinha's resignation in August.

Majority of the affected employees were from the marketing division and Sterlite Academy within the company, the executive cited earlier said.

Apart from a weak order book pipeline and stagnant telecom business, the company's diversification to a service-led organisation did not fare well, said people in the know.

For the current year, the company's order book stands at about Rs 10,500 crore across business units - optical networking, digital solutions and global services. The optical networking business contributes nearly 80 per cent to the company's overall revenue.

The move to cut staff aims to de-stress the balance sheet as the company shifts its focus to core business, transferring the software and telecom business assets to the Texas-headquartered Skyvera LLC, to which STL sold its telecom and software businesses in March, the executive said.