Coronavirus: India’s outsourcing firms struggle to serve US, British companies amid lockdown
- Amid the global pandemic, Western firms are increasingly reliant on business process outsourcing (BPO) functions provided by companies in India
- But these firms face logistical and technical hurdles amid the 21-day lockdown imposed by Modi – and some employees will lose their jobs
Just days ago, an information technology executive in a building not too far from Patil’s had tested positive. By then, the government was making repeated appeals to businesses to let employees work from home, but Patil – whose name has been changed to protect his identity – and his colleagues were not allowed to do so, or to take leave.
“In fact, the office gave us a letter saying we work for a bank and that the cops must allow us to go to work, despite the lockdown,” he said.
His firm announced a shutdown only after the Maharashtra government locked down the state – but Patil has been told he will not get paid for these days because the firm will lose out on a lot of business.
Such stories are hardly uncommon in India, where the fight to halt the coronavirus update has put a cloud of doubt over one of the country’s signature exports to the world – its outsourcing industry.