Serious concerns regarding the ongoing hiring and promotion practices within the organization, which are increasingly being perceived as biased, unethical, and damaging to employee morale and organizational credibility.
There is a growing perception across teams that a significant number of leadership positions, particularly Director-level roles, are being filled based on personal relationships and prior associations rather than merit, capability, or transparent evaluation processes. A majority of recently appointed Directors appear to have close personal or professional connections with the Site Leadership, particularly from previous associations at HSBC.
Recent appointments have further reinforced this perception. The newly hired PMO Director is known to be a close associate of the Pune Site Leadership and from HSBC. Similarly, another incoming QA Director, currently leading QA at LTM, is also recognized internally as a close friend of the Site Leadership. These patterns are creating a strong belief that organizational opportunities are being selectively opened for a preferred circle rather than being made accessible through fair internal or external competition.
At the same time, there is increasing concern regarding leadership competency and strategic direction. Employees are struggling to understand how individuals with limited demonstrated expertise in critical areas such as Infrastructure and Data are being elevated into highly influential positions such as India CIO and CDO. Such decisions raise serious questions about the criteria being used for leadership appointments and succession planning.
What is most demoralizing for employees is the contrast between the termination of junior associates and ground-level contributors while additional Director-level positions continue to be created for known associates and personal networks. This creates a perception that cost optimization is being enforced selectively on lower-level employees while leadership expansion continues unchecked.
These developments are significantly impacting employee trust, morale, and confidence in leadership. If left unaddressed, they risk damaging the organization’s culture, credibility, and long-term retention of genuine talent.
