Centre tells Karnataka government to take action on Infosys layoffs

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, February 14, 2025: The Union Labour Ministry, on Thursday, directed the Karnataka Labour Department to take “urgent necessary actions to resolve the dispute”, referring to a complaint by an independent tech employees’ union on mass layoffs by Infosys.

Last week, the IT services giant admitted to laying off over 300 freshers, who had undergone foundational training at the Infosys Mysuru campus for months.

IT-sector union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) argued that the actual number was 700, before sending an official complaint to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, demanding immediate intervention and strict action against Infosys.

In the complaint, the union stated, “Infosys Ltd has resorted to forcibly terminating recently onboarded campus recruits who had already suffered a delay of two years in their joining after being issued offer letters.”

Freshers were made to sign "mutual separation" agreements, that DH had previously reported on.

The complaint by NITES called for investigation, issuance of a restraining order against Infosys to halt further terminations of this kind, reinstatement of all terminated employees, and penal action against the company for violating provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and other applicable labour laws.

The Union Labour Ministry then directed the state to take action. As per reports by other news platforms, Labour Department officials had late on Thursday visited the companies Bengaluru and Mysuru campuses.

There was no comment from Infosys on the matter till the time of publication. Last week, Infosys had said that the company did not forcefully terminate anyone.

They further stated that the company has a “rigorous hiring process” wherein freshers post training is expected to clear internal assessments within three attempts, “failing which they will not be able to continue with the organisation.” The company added that this process has been in existence for over two decades.

However, an ex-exployee terminated in the recent layoffs countered that it is the first time the company has laid off such a large number of students, and may continue to do so with future batches.