Deja vu 2020? Tech firms revive WFH as Middle East war disrupts fuel

Several technology companies and global capability centres have activated business continuity plans as tensions rise in West Asia following recent Iranian strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates, according to a report by The Times of India’s Shilpa Patankar.

Measures adopted by companies include work-from-home arrangements, travel advisories and temporary office closures to ensure operations continue amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Also Read: The Iran war puts India’s dosa and AI dreams on ice
Companies are also increasingly relying on India as a stable hub for global operations, with several firms running mirror command centres from the country to maintain operational continuity during disruptions.

Tata Consultancy Services, which has more than 9,000 employees across the Middle East and Africa region, has asked staff in affected areas to work remotely and activated a call tree communication system to reach employees in impacted and neighbouring regions. “We are also coordinating closely with local authorities and the Indian embassies to track developments and will continue to provide timely updates as the situation evolves,” the company told TOI.

Infosys has introduced tighter travel restrictions, allowing only critical travel for now while restricting group meetings, events, offsites and conferences. Other companies including Wipro, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered have also asked employees to work from home.
Also Read: Packaged food companies slash production amid LPG crunchVikram Ahuja, co-founder of ANSR, said companies setting up or expanding global capability centres in the region have paused non-essential travel and executive visits. “If the situation persists, we could actually see an acceleration of GCC ramp-ups in India as a stable anchor,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cognizant has advised employees to adopt BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) wherever possible to reduce reliance on office cafeterias while monitoring the evolving situation linked to the West Asia crisis. The company has pre-identified alternate food vendors that do not rely on commercial LPG. In an email to employees, Cognizant said the current situation does not indicate an immediate disruption but could turn into a prolonged period of operational pressure, adding that there was a “moderate risk of service strain” in commute operations as rising fuel costs could affect cab and shuttle vendors.