Expressing solidarity with the new management team of the Satyam [Get Quote], IT industry body National Association of Software and Service Companies said on Friday it has asked its recruitment team not to poach anybody from Satyam.

"As of now, the priority of Nasscom is business continuity. The company is in the middle of a crisis. All the employees have been working on projects. To continue the projects they need people," a top Nasscom official said.

For Nasscom the priority now is to see that business continues for Satyam.

"We will ensure that customers and other stakeholders get the right perspective. We will also work with the Satyam Task Force to reach out to their customers and employees and guide them through the transition," Nasscom chairman Ganesh Natarajan has said.

Earlier, Infosys [Get Quote] had made it clear that to refrain from hiring employees of Satyam Computer Services.

Though the new Satyam management team headed by the interim CEO Ram Mynampati on Thursday tried to soothe over 50,000 nervous employees by saying that the salaries for December has been taken care of, the worried workforce is busy looking at avenues elsewhere.

"In a middle of a crisis of this magnitude, people usually jump ship. Rival firms usually look at cherry-picking staff," an analyst said.

Though no news of layoffs has come from the company yet, with questions on its cash position and a minimum outgo on salary estimated at Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) a month, Satyam may lay off over 10,000 employees next month, says a recruitment firm.

"It is most likely that Satyam will cut 10,000 jobs next month as the company is left with no cash to pay the salaries. The current fiasco is likely to put pressure on salaries, which may be reduced by 10 per cent due to the surplus of about 20,000 people in the jobs market," Headhunters India CEO Kris Lakshmikanth had said.

The IT-BPO union Unites Professionals had said that if there is a layoff they will step in.

• The Satyam fiasco: Complete coverage