Satyam Computer has decided to lay off employees from its sales division in order to meet operating expenses and clear its debts. Nearly 10 per cent of its claimed workforce of 53,000 is engaged in providing support functions.

T Hari, Satyam’s global head of marketing and communication, said, "We are looking at rationalising employees who provide pre and post-sales services onsite as part of the cost-rationalisation exercise."

The support staff functions include HR and finance, besides pre and post sales services. The company sees support staff as non-billable employees, who need to be moved to billable rolesin order to avert huge layoffs.

"But, given the current state of Satyam, trimming of sales force overseas is imminent. We have no plans either to take on board graduates who were offered jobs a year ago,” said Hari.

Last year, the company scaled down hiring projections for FY09 to around 8,000-10,000 people against the 15,000 it had earlier projected, citing the global economic meltdown. It may, however, go all out to retain associates who are critical for projects, reports the Economic Times.

"The focus would be to hold back at least 15 to 20 per cent of the associates working on a specific account, as the company reckons that they are needed for customer continuity as well. We will look at a higher monetary and non-monetary compensation for this segment," added Hari. X