Infosys airlifts its employees out of Houston jam

With Hurricane Rita hurtling towards the Texas coast, Indian IT major Infosys has evacuated over 86 people including employees and their families from Houston on a chartered flight.

The evacuation on Thursday night (IST) was ordered after a specially set up Infosys Rita watch panel, Task Force Rita, indicated danger for employees in Houston, Texas.

There are nearly 100 Infosys employees working in the region. Infosys officials at the company’s headquarters in Bangalore said that the decision to charter a plane for the evacuation of employees and their families was made after reports that roads from Houston were blocked as scores of people attempted to flee.

‘‘The roads were blocked due to traffic and we learnt many of our people will not be able to get out. We then chartered a jet in the US. Those airlifted are those who found themselves at the end of the traffic line,’’ Infosys Chief Financial Officer Mohandas Pai said, adding that the employees had been evacuated to safer cities like Dallas.

‘‘A core group has been working round-the-clock to manage the entire intervention. Cellphone connectivity was sporadic and hence announcements on the Infosys helpdesk and emergency support were being made by auto voice messaging to our employees’ cellphones,’’ a company official said.