The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued a second letter to the Karnataka Labour Commissioner, urging intervention in the mass termination of trainees at Infosys’ Mysuru campus. This action follows multiple complaints addressed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) by affected employees and the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a Pune-based IT employee union.
The letter, dated February 25, requests the Karnataka Labour Commissioner to investigate the matter and take necessary actions, keeping both the applicants and the central ministry informed. This directive comes after Karnataka’s Labour Department officials visited Infosys’ campuses in Bengaluru and Mysuru on February 13 to assess the situation.
Infosys laid off approximately 350-400 trainees on February 7, citing their failure to clear internal assessment tests in three consecutive attempts. The company emphasized that performance evaluations are a standard part of their training program, which is globally recognized for its quality.
NITES has been at the forefront of challenging these layoffs, terming them “illegal, unethical, and in violation of labour laws.” The union held a press conference on February 26, where affected employees shared their experiences and grievances.
In response to the allegations, Infosys reiterated its commitment to maintaining high employee standards and highlighted its policies on assessments, outplacement services, and severance pay. The company stated that over 98% of eligible trainees received relieving letters upon separation.
Read Infosys’ full statement here
In a statement, Infosys said, “While we understand the disappointment of individuals who have not been able to clear the assessment, It is important to understand facts surrounding this situation.” Our testing processes are articulated in the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively to all trainees, the statement added.
“Infosys takes great pride in the quality of its employees, and provides one of the finest training programs that has been globally recognized as a leading foundation program in the industry. Every trainee joins with the clear understanding that performance evaluations are an integral part of their development and progress. While we understand the disappointment of individuals who have not been able to clear the assessment, It is important to understand facts surrounding this situation. Each trainee that joins Infosys, fills an Apprenticeship Registration Form accepting their apprenticeship with Infosys, where the training cost is borne entirely by Infosys.
Our testing processes are articulated in the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively to all trainees. Also, as part of the evaluation process, negative marking is across all the three attempts where Multiple-Choice Questions formats are followed. This is part of the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively at the time of induction of our trainees. Furthermore, all eligible trainees (over 98%) have received their relieving letter upon separation, along with outplacement services, severance pay, counselling among other measures, as shared earlier,” the full statement read.