Centre Directs Karnataka Labour Ministry To Take Action On Infosys Layoffs

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has directed the Karnataka state Labour Ministry to take urgent necessary actions to resolve the Infosys fresher layoff issue. 

IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) had earlier asked the labour ministry to take action against Infosys for laying off freshers from its Mysuru campus. 

“I am directed to forward the representation, as the matter pertains to the State Government of Karnataka; you are requested to examine the matter, take urgent necessary actions to resolve the dispute, and inform the complainant accordingly under intimation to this Ministry,” the labour ministry wrote in response.

Infosys earlier last week confirmed laying off 300 freshers, citing that the employees did not clear internal tests. The union has alleged Infosys of laying off 700 employees, just a few months after the freshers were onboarded. According to NITES, the terminated freshers were made to sign confidentiality agreements, which the union argues is an attempt to suppress the details of the layoffs. 

The union expressed concerns over the abrupt nature of these terminations and the impact on the affected employees. “It has come to our attention, through numerous complaints received from affected employees, that Infosys Ltd. has resorted to forcibly terminating recently onboarded campus recruits who had already suffered a delay of two years in their joining after being issued offer letters,” NITES had written in its letter to the ministry. 

NITES had highlighted that Infosys escorted hundreds of freshers out of the Mysuru campus without prior notice and compensation. Freshers were asked to leave the same evening they got fired, and security guards, bouncers, and intimidation tactics were used to ensure they leave. 

Infosys, in its defence, had stated that the freshers who are being terminated have failed to clear internal tests that are part of the onboarding process. The company emphasised that this practice is in line with the contractual agreements signed by the employees at the time of their hiring.