What’s Behind the Mass Exodus at UST Global?

Outsourcing firm UST Global, which has maintained a modest presence in Latin America, has reshuffled its top management team in India, according to the country’s financial daily Hindu Business Line.

Though UST global is headquartered in the United States, a large majority of its employees are working at its delivery centers in India’s southern state of Kerala. The company has employed over 12,000 people globally.

“We have now brought in a new team, which will take the company to the next level of growth. We are not replacing any of those who left but creating new portfolios. You will hear in a couple of weeks about the structural changes with a new leadership management,” the paper quoted the company’s chief administrative officer, Alexander Varghese, as saying.

According to the paper, the software services and solutions provider has nearly 70 customers and a majority of them are in the Fortune 100 list.

Outsourcing companies in India are struggling to make profit with IT services contracts declining considerably over the past months. Rising wages at home is also undercutting profits.

Among those who left the company include Murali Gopalan, who is currently the President of RP TechSoft International, says the paper.

Senior officials who left the company include Krishna Sudheendra, chief financial officer, Kailash Attal, chief quality officer, and Niketh Sunder, vice president.

The paper suspects that as many as five senior officials might have quit the company in the United States as well.

Over the past two months, several top officials from rival firms have joined UST Global. And they include Cisco’s Jim Hughes and Shonk Mitra from Tech Mahindra.