“Though L&T has not been affected by the slowdown so far, we are thinking twice before taking each and every step, especially in real estate and commercial aircraft projects," says K Venkatramanan, President (E&C Projects) and Member of the Board, L&T. He was one of those who spoke on the subject "Managing in times of uncertainty" at the 20th annual convention of the Baroda Management Association (BMA) in Vadodara.

L&T, which has been conservative in its approach, is looking this slowdown as an opportunity for talent acquisition. It is on the hunt for Indian talent in the Middle East. "This is the right time for talent acquisition. We can acquire more devoted and more committed employees at the most economic prices. That is what we are doing in the Middle East," said Venkatramanan.

He also pointed out sectors, which are vulnerable to the global economic slowdown. Textiles, metals, mining, chemicals, etc are the businesses which contribute 33 per cent of the Indian gross domestic product (GDP) and consume 37 per cent of the bank credit.

Since the exports are shrinking, these sectors have become vulnerable. "These sectors have built up great capacities and are the most vulnerable because of the shrinking demand. They are facing the problem of funding and the demand," said Venkatramanan.

He said the sectors such as infrastructure, power, petroleum, fertilizers, coal, IT/ITeS where the capital and debt doses are very high, are also facing problems. These sectors constitute 24 per cent of GDP and eat up 21 per cent of the bank credit. While the sectors, which are less capital-intensive such as food, telecom, health and agriculture would do well in the crisis.

Bombardier’s plans
BOMBARDIER, the global transport company, has said the company will employ around 750 people in Vadodara's Savli coach factory in the next one year. The company would employ around 400 white collar employees, 100 blue collar and 250 engineers for their facility in Savli. The company has got two new projects – one from Europe and the other one from Singapore.
"The company will train the employees who will do international projects on their own," said Pierre St-Onge, General Manager, Passengers, Savli site, Vadodara.