Infosys has fired 45 trainees at one of its offices in Bengaluru after they failed to clear internal assessments despite three consecutive attempts. This comes after the company fired as many as 350 employees in February, according to a Times of India (TOI) report citing sources.
Earlier, Infosys let go of 700 trainees who had been hired two-and-a-half years ago but were onboarded in October 2024. The company stated that these people failed to pass the company’s internal assessments. However, many have complained that the difficulty level of the test was higher compared to previous ones.
Trainees have said that Infosys enrolled them in the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), which provides a Rs 9,000 monthly stipend per trainee for 12 months, but they were removed from the program within just four months. Some also claimed they were not informed about the negative marking in assessments and have yet to receive their relieving letters.
Infosys, in a statement, said that as many as 350 employees “resigned” following the assessment. The company justified these terminations, stating that clearing the test is essential to maintaining the high quality of talent available for its clients. The company reiterated that failing these assessments resulted in contract termination.
Centre steps into mass layoffs at Infosys
In response, around 117 people wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Office, seeking an investigation into what they described as unjust terminations and demanded the restoration of their jobs. Subsequently, a notice was issued to Karnataka’s labour commissioner from the Ministry of Labour & Employment asking for intervention in mass layoffs.
A Pune-based IT workers’ union, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has been actively opposing the layoffs, calling them “illegal, unethical, and a violation of labor laws”.
“Various complaints that are received by this office addressed to PMO are enclosed herewith. The applicants are requesting the intervention of the Ministry of Labour & Employment to ensure their reinstatement in employment and to prevent similar unfair dismissals from happening to other employees in the future,” the notice, as per a report by ET, read.
A second letter, dated February 25, was issued to the Karnataka Labour Commissioner by the Ministry to look into the mass layoffs. It read, “You are requested to look into the matter and take necessary action, keeping both the applicant and this office informed.”
What did Infosys say?
Following the complaints, Infosys defended its decision, highlighting the role of performance evaluations in the training process.
“Every trainee joins with the clear understanding that performance evaluations are an integral part of their development and progress. While we understand the disappointment of individuals who have not been able to clear the assessment, it is important to understand the facts surrounding this situation. Each trainee that joins Infosys fills an Apprenticeship Registration Form accepting their apprenticeship with Infosys, where the training cost is borne entirely by Infosys,” the company had said in a statement.
It added, “Our testing processes are articulated in the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively to all trainees. Also, as part of the evaluation process, negative marking is across all the three attempts where Multiple-Choice Questions formats are followed.”
“This is part of the evaluation policy document and is also communicated proactively at the time of induction of our trainees. Furthermore, all eligible trainees (over 98%) have received their relieving letter upon separation, along with outplacement services, severance pay, and counselling among other measures, as shared earlier,” the statement, issued by Infosys, further read.