The facility, the largest in the city spread over 4.75 lakh sq ft and built at a cost of Rs 100 crore, is special as this is where the company was planning to hire 5,000 hands and “arrive” big in Pune. But the existing 400 hands are now worried as to how long they can hold on to their jobs.

“It is difficult not to be scared, especially taking into consideration the global slowdown. In normal circumstances, most of us could have opted to look out for a job change, but at the moment not many are sure what to do,” said Ashok.

The developments have drawn mixed reactions from the employees of Satyam, and most of them are reluctant to talk, especially to the media.

Radhika, a manager with Satyam, said: “We are unhappy with the way the problem has been blown out of proportion. We have been conducting meetings since morning, asking our employees to be calm.” And that is precisely the image Satyam would like to portray to the outside world. “The atmosphere inside the company is quite cool, though no one may be displaying his true emotions. We are keeping our fingers crossed; at the same time preparing ourselves for layoffs,” said Dheeraj.