In February 2025, Infosys dismissed approximately 400 trainees at its Mysuru campus for failing to pass internal assessments after three attempts, with the company stating that these evaluations are a regular part of their training process.
“We have a rigorous way to test individuals, which has remained the same for over 20 years,” said Infosys CEO Salil Parekh regarding the trainee layoffs in Mysuru after they allegedly failed to pass internal assessments, reported Republic.
Infosys, India’s second-largest Information Technology (IT) services provider, added 199 employees to its workforce in the fourth quarter ending March 31.
The company’s employee count rose from 317,240 in the previous fiscal year to 323,578 in FY25, following the recruitment of an additional 6,388 employees.
Mass layoffs at Mysuru campus
According to an exclusive report from Republic Business, the dismissal process involved trainees being escorted out in groups, asked to sign mutual severance agreements, and then immediately exit the premises.
The email sent to the trainees read: "We are here to assist you in preparing better. We have made the decision to offer extra training and guidance from matter experts so you can clear the test successfully. Thus, the third attempt at generic FA2 Assessment initially planned for February 24 has been postponed. We shall inform you with new dates shortly."
Postponement of Internal Assessments
Following the layoffs, Infosys postponed internal evaluations for the remaining trainees by a week to provide additional preparation time. According to the company, this delay was made to help trainees better prepare.
However, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) claimed that the delay was a result of their intervention.
The layoffs also brought up concerns about Infosys' handling of recent graduate induction. Over 2,000 graduates, who received offer letters in 2022, had to wait almost two years before they were inducted in October 2024.
As per a Republic Business report, an employee stated: "We were tricked into believing that we would get certificates, but now we were forced to sign mutual separation pacts. The compensation that was made available was just Rs 21,000 — not even sufficient to recover the two years we spent in vain waiting for this position."
NITES filed a complaint with the Central government in August 2024, which led to intervention from the Karnataka state government.
Government intervention
The Labour Ministry of the Central government has directed the Karnataka state government to investigate the large-scale dismissals at Infosys' Mysuru campus. The investigation aims to determine whether Infosys violated any labour laws or acted unethically.
Infosys maintains that the terminated trainees voluntarily signed separation agreements and that the evaluations are a regular part of its training process. Today, April 17, Infosys announced its Q4 results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, along with a dividend of Rs 22.
