Working for a foreign bank in India? You won't like this

If you’re a hot-shot banker with a multinational bank in India, you’re going to hate this.

According to a report in The Economic Times, Citigroup, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays are slashing jobs in their Indian operations at the fastest pace since the 2008 global credit crisis amid slowing operations.

Citi cut 100 jobs while HSBC is expected to axe several employees as part of its global staff reduction programme. French bank BNP Paribas has eliminated more than a dozen employees, while Royal Bank of Scotland is putting its equities and mergers advisory division for sale, which may lead to layoffs, added the newspaper.

Overall, more than 1,000 jobs could be shed across foreign banks, the report noted.

Terribly depressing, isn’t it?

But fear not. Not all sectors have such gloomy news to give. Indeed, even among banks, not everyone is dumping staff.

Several public-sector and private sector banks are actually planning to hire more this year. Indeed, several sectors are planning to hire more employees as they chart out expansion plans.

A recent Grant Thorton interview also showed the upbeat sentiment among Indian companies. Despite a visible economic slowdown, companies across the country plan to hike salaries for their employees by more than the rate of inflation, according to this Firstpost story .

For job-seekers, here’s a quick look at sectors that are likely to keep hiring in 2012:

Banks: Apart from foreign banks, which are in employee-shedding mode, local private- and public-sector banks are mostly in expansion mode. According to The Economic Times, state-run banks like Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India are expected to hire more than 45,000 employees by the year ending March 2013. A Hindustan Times report also noted that banks like Axis Bank and HDFC Bank are hoping to hire recruits. The only downside: salaries are likely to be much lower this year.

Real estate: Bracing for better times ahead, real estate companies are planning to hire thousands of staff, according to this Economic Times report . Companies are hoping when the rate cuts (expected this year) materialise, it will bring back potential home buyers into the market again. Hiring is expected to go up by at least 15 percent in 2012, led by civil engineers, project managers and sales and marketing teams.

Environment management: If you’re a ‘green’ professional, you’re in luck because you are likely to find plenty of job opportunities this year. Demand for people who can help with protecting the environment and reducing energy consumption is forecast to surge 55-60 percent this year, driven by the real estate industry, according to this PTI report . Other sectors expected to focus on environment management are fast-moving consumer goods and retail, so expect demand from these industries as well.

IT: Tech experts continue to be in demand, despite the dampening economic prospects of the eurozone and the US. Despite the drop in dollar revenues, the sector is doing much better than anticipated by most analysts.

Most of India’s top IT companies continue to hire at the lower levels. A Business Standard report says that TCS, India’s largest software services exporter, made campus offers to 43,600 engineering freshers for the financial year ending March 2013, up 15 percent from the previous year. Still, hiring is likely to be on a need-basis.

Healthcare: According to various experts, hiring in this sector was robust in 2011 and that trend is likely to continue well into 2012. According to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month, there will be greater demand for nurses, laboratory technicians and hospital administrators, among others, as more hospitals and diagnostic centres open this year.

These expansions are also likely to be in smaller cities, the report added. In addition, the growing reputation of India as a medical tourism destination is also likely to boost demand for Indian healthcare services.

So, cheer up! It’s not all doom and gloom on the jobs front.