HCL to get Disney's IT contract; drops some Xerox employees in US

In two unrelated developments, Indian IT company HCL Technologies is making headlines in the US. The first story is about the company's growth in the US. In March, WRALTechWire reported that Disney did not renew their 7 year deal with IBM signed back in 2005. Disney brought IBM to handle their IT and as part of the deal, IBM would manage:

• SAP software and business applications
• mainframe systems
• 3,700 Intel and Unix based PCs
• Storage systems

The deal with IBM was part of a $1.3B contract that IBM shared with ACS who were in-charge of networking and help-desk support. According to reports, Disney Entertainment has chosen HCL for managing their IT. THe details about the deal are thin with neither company going on record. Shilpa Phadnis & Mini Joseph Tejaswi writing for the Times of India say HCL will be responsible for updating Disney's IT infrastructure and support software. In a separate development, HCL has laid off some of its staff in the US. According to reports, those discharged were former Xerox employees and were transfered to HCL  as part of the company's partnership with Xerox. In an announcement last year, Xerox said nearly 600 employees from California, Oregon, and New York would move to HCL. In a statement the company said:

HCL has eliminated some engineering services positions that were held by former Xerox employees who were transferred to HCL America about a year ago. We are working closely with those affected to provide the proper assistance that will ensure a smooth transition. It's a very small number compared to our overall US employee base of about 8,000 and our nearly 90,000 global employees. It's also a small percentage of those initially transferred from Xerox to HCL.