Infosys has come under inspection for laying off nearly 400 trainees at its Mysore campus, citing failure to clear compulsory internal assessments. The decision has ignited fury as terminated employees have claimed that they were told to leave the premises immediately. The mass layoffs which took place on February 7, have attracted sharp criticism from employee union and industry watchers.
According to Times Now, employees were called in groups and were communicated about their termination. One trainee urged the management for extension and asked ,’’Please allow me to stay at night. I will leave tomorrow. Where will I go right now?’’ However, the officer reportedly replied, ‘’We don’t know. You are no longer part of the company. Leave the campus by 6 PM’’. It has been reported the security personnel’s were also present during the meetings.
The company’s decision has left many helpless as many of the affected trainees had shifted from different parts of India and had no immediate arrangements for accommodations.
Infosys on the other hand has commented, ‘’All freshers were given three chances to clear the assessment, failing which they won’t be allowed to continue with the company’’, as reported by MoneyControl. The company maintained the statement that this policy has been adhered to by the organization for more than two decades. However, reports indicate that assessment criteria have been changed recently. The minimum score was raised to 65% from 50% and the training syllabus was also increased. Employees will now need 200 hours of study time making it tougher to meet the expectations.
The move has been criticised by the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) and have termed them as ‘’corporate exploitation”. Harpreet Singh Saluja, NTIES President demanded government interference in the matter and stated to the Times Of India that this a blatant corporate exploitation and cannot be permitted to carry on.
The controversy has raised concerns on job security and training evaluation process fairness in the IT sector.