After outcry over layoffs of freshers, Infosys defers internal assessments for trainees
The company last week laid off over 300 freshers who underwent foundational training at its Mysuru campus but could not clear internal assessments after three attempts
Hyderabad: IT major Infosys has postponed internal assessments scheduled for trainees by a week.
The move comes close on the heels of an outcry over recent layoffs of freshers on its Mysuru campus. it had last week laid off over 300 freshers who underwent foundational training at its Mysuru campus but could not clear internal assessments after three attempts.
The Bengaluru-headquartered company has, however, asserted that the deferment is aimed at giving them additional time for preparation.
IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), claimed that the assessment meant for 800 trainees was postponed due to its intervention, “unwavering fight against unfair layoffs”, as well as government action.
However, Infosys said it had not received any requests from the government or external parties to postpone assessments. “We are deferring our assessments by a week to provide additional preparation time for our trainees,” it stated.
“After Infosys initiated mass terminations at its Mysore campus, NITES escalated the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. The ministry promptly directed the Karnataka State Labour Department to investigate and protect affected employees,” NITES said.
It went on to say that on Tuesday, February 18, around 800 employees were scheduled for an assessment, with results set for Wednesday.
“However, following NITES’ intervention, government action, and strong media support, Infosys has now postponed the assessment. While this brings a sigh of relief for many employees, the fight for fair employment practices and job security is far from over,” NITES had said.
On the Mysuru incident, the company had clarified: “At Infosys, we have a rigorous hiring process where all freshers, after undergoing extensive foundational training at our Mysuru campus, are expected to clear internal assessments. 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.” With inputs from PTI
