In the last Fiscal Year (FY 2023-24), the top six information technology service companies in India saw a reduction in their numbers. These include TCS, Infosys, LTI-Mindtree, Tech Mahindra and Wipro; with only HCLTech adding to their headcount. This reduction is said to be due to the economic slowdown, automation, restructuring, and decreased discretionary spending.
Some analysts believe that the excessive hiring during Covid-19 seems to be the result of said drop and ongoing industry contraction in demand.
Most of the Global IT Companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, Intel, SAP and others declared job cuts in the last 12-18 months. These companies either have stopped hiring for the moment or its hiring capacity is quite limited. In the same way, the tech start-up scene has witnessed a similar job cut, with around 50% of their value dropping or being completely shut down.
According to a report in Money Control, the Indian IT and ITeS sector is experiencing ‘silent layoffs’. In 2023, a report by the All India IT & ITeS Employees’ Union (AIITEU) claims that approximately 20,000 technology professionals were affected by unexpected layoffs. These layoffs were seen across various IT Companies irrespective of their size.
What are ‘silent layoffs’?
A recent report highlights a common method of ‘silent’ layoffs where employees are given a 30-day period to find a new position within their company. Failure to do so results in termination.
The All India IT and ITeS Employees’ Union (AIITEU) claims that many companies are adopting this practice, subtly pressuring employees to resign. Another industry body, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 employees have been laid off in leading Indian IT service companies in the first five months of 2024.
Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of NITES, stated that companies use various strategies to dismiss employees, and those who resist are immediately terminated. Being marked as “terminated” on their release documents severely impacts future employment prospects.
Saubhik Bhattacharya, General Secretary of AIITEU, noted that employees are sometimes required to sign non-disclosure agreements to receive their full severance packages.
