Star gave marching orders to 40-odd employees who were recruited in its direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting division. Star's DTH division had about 135 employees. Besides the 40 sacked employees, nearly 30 have been shifted to Channel V and other business divisions, sources said.

With the government prohibiting Ku-band DTH broadcasting, Star had no work for these employees who were primarily of executives and assistance managers level. The core team comprising senior and top level managers in the DTH division has been retained.

The one-day session began with a two-hour talk by a stress management consultant on depression and stress. The consultant told the employees how to cope with stress ordepression which may have set in after leaving a top multinational company job. Thus, those who were de-motivated and depressed were given an opportunity to regain confidence.

This was followed by a talk on interview skills for 2-3 hours. The ex-employees were told how to answer questions from prospective employers and hone up their skills.

The final two-hour session was with two job placement consultancy firms whose senior executives held interviews with each one of the sacked employees and put them in their database to find jobs for them.

That's not all. The employees were given nine-months advance salary though the contractual obligation was only for three months, along with all perks such as leave encashment and medical benefits.

The sacked employees have been given a verbal commitment that they will be given first preference for jobs whenever Star starts its DTH operations.``These employees were not sacked because of non-performance. There was just no work for them as government is yet to take apolicy decision on opening up Ku-band DTH broadcasting,'' a Star official said.

The Star management's gesture has surprised its own officials. ``It's really a great gesture and a motivating factor for all those who in Star that the company cares to such an extent for its employees,'' an official said.