Bengaluru Techies Approach Labour Commissioner Over Layoffs

Forum for IT Employees or FITE on Thursday submitted two petitions to Karnataka Labour Commissioner, alleging that some employees of IT majors were "forced to resign". "A group petition by four Tech Mahindra employees and an individual petition against Wipro was handed over," the Bengaluru Chapter of the forum said in a statement. The employees discussed their experience with the Labour Commissioner RR Jannu, who promised to look in the matter and raise it with the relevant individuals and departments in the government, the forum said in a statement.

IT outsourcing has long been one of India's flagship industries but experts say automation, a failure to keep up with new technologies and US President Donald Trump's clampdown on visas is creating industry-wide upheaval. Research has claimed that hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear in the future. Automation has put to risk nearly 5 lakh jobs from India's IT sector in next five years, a report from US research firm HfS Research noted. The industry employs nearly four million Indians and rakes in revenues of more than $150 billion, according to the trade body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

The forum of IT employees FITE had earlier petitioned Telagana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments, alleging illegal layoffs. The Karnataka government has assured members of a united front of IT employees associations to look into the issue of layoffs, says a report from Press Trust of India. Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge has informed All India IT Employees Association that he will meet them 'soon' to discuss the issues, the report added. The minister had earlier asked the affected IT employees to lodge a complaint with the labour department.

Many IT companies are struggling with lower growth amid big changes in the technology landscape which is fast shifting towards new digital services. The tightening of the visa regime in many countries would also impact the IT companies' margin, say analysts. The IT companies say that they evaluate employee performance on a regular basis and take necessary actions wherever necessary and this year is no different.