IT giant Infosys has laid off nearly 700 freshers from its Mysuru campus, IT employees’ union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) claimed on Friday. The union claimed that the freshers were being terminated after just a few months of being onboarded to the company.
The terminated freshers are being made to sign confidentiality agreements, NITES said noting that it may be an attempt to suppress the details of the layoffs.
“In a shocking and unethical move, Infosys has begun forcefully laying off around 700 campus recruits who were onboarded just a few months ago,” Harpreet Singh Saluja, NITES president, said in a statement.
NITES alleged that the company also deployed “bouncers and security personnel” during the termination process to intimidate employees.
This was done to ensure that the employees do not “carry mobile phones and are left with no way to document the incident or seek help,” Mr Saluja claimed.
The union has expressed concerns over the abrupt nature of these terminations and the impact on the affected employees.
However, Infosys defended itself, stating that the terminated freshers failed to clear multiple internal tests that are part of the onboarding process.
“All freshers get three attempts to clear the assessment, failing which they will not be able to continue with the organisation, as is also mentioned in their contract. This process has been in existence for over two decades,” the IT major said in a statement.
The company argued that these measures are necessary to ensure that only those who meet the required standards are retained.
Meanwhile, NITES said it is filing an official complaint with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, demanding immediate intervention and strict action against Infosys.
“This blatant corporate exploitation cannot be allowed to continue, and we urge the government to take swift action to uphold the rights and dignity of Indian IT workers,” said Mr Saluja.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)