Infosys lays off around 700 campus recruits, faces backlash over forceful termination of freshers

The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an organization dedicated to the welfare of IT and ITES workers, has alleged that Infosys has started laying off around 700 campus recruits who joined the company in Oct 2024.

"In a shocking and unethical move, Infosys has begun forcefully laying off approximately 700 campus recruits who were onboarded just a few months ago," said Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES.

He is preparing to file an official complaint with the Labour Ministry of India.

Infosys, however, said that the number is closer to 350, and those affected were let go after multiple unsuccessful attempts to pass internal evaluations.

Approximately 400 employees who failed to meet basic standards on a qualifying test three times were given ultimatum letters in batches.

Affected employees claim that during this process, the syllabus and assessment criteria were changed.

"All freshers are given three attempts to clear the assessment, and failing this, they cannot continue with the organization, as specified in their contract," Infosys said in response to the allegations. This procedure has been in place for over 20 years.

Employees from the 2022 engineering batch, who trained at the company's Mysuru campus, have been most impacted.

These applicants had already waited two years before being onboarded in Oct 2023, with original offer letters guaranteeing annual packages ranging from ₹3.2 to ₹3.7 lakh for system engineer positions.

NITES has accused the company of using coercive tactics to terminate employees.

"The company has deployed bouncers and security personnel to intimidate employees, ensuring they cannot carry mobile phones, leaving them unable to document the incident or seek help," Saluja claimed.

The organization is calling for immediate action from the government to protect the rights of IT workers, arguing that these practices violate the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947.