Infosys Lays Off Over 300 Freshers, See What Happened

The firm informed that these layoffs were triggered by internal qualifying tests, which freshers need to clear after their foundational training at the Mysuru campus.

Individuals who failed to meet the minimum requirements across three attempts were given ultimatum letters and asked to leave.

Source : Glassdoor

Indian IT giant, Infosys, has laid off more than 300 campus recruits, after recruiting them a few months earlier in October 2024. The firm informed that these layoffs were triggered by internal qualifying tests, which freshers need to clear after their foundational training at the Mysuru campus. Individuals who failed to meet the minimum requirements across three attempts were given ultimatum letters and asked to leave.

Issuing an official statement, the company said, “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 and ensures a high quality of talent availability for our clients,” reported Business Standard.

The move, however, has drawn major criticism for the tech firm. Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a labour rights group, criticised the decision as ‘shocking and unethical’ and said that it plans to submit a formal complaint with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, reported The Economic Times. The report said that employees have claimed that the test syllabus and criteria were changed later, making the tests harder to pass.

The majority of the impacted employees belonged to the engineering batch of 2022, most of whom waited for more than 2 years for their onboarding. Last year, more than 1,000 engineering graduates were finally recruited in the company as System Engineers (SE) and Digital SEs, with salaries ranging between Rs 3.2 lakh and Rs 3.7 lakh per annum, the report said.

NITES President, Harpreet Singh Saluja, accused the company of resorting to ‘coercion and intimidation’. The lawyer is advocating for IT workers and claimed that the firm established security personnel to prevent impacted employees from using mobile phones, letting them have no means to document the situation or get help.

However, Infosys defended its assessment process and said that employees were made aware of the conditions in their contracts before they joined the company.