The Karnataka Labour Department has absolved Infosys of any wrongdoing in the recent dismissal of trainees at its Mysuru campus. An investigation determined that the company had not violated labour laws since the affected individuals were classified as trainees, not employees.
“There was no employer-employee relationship. These individuals were on a three-month apprenticeship, receiving stipends but no official appointment letters,” clarified a government official.
The inquiry was triggered by complaints from the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) and impacted trainees, who argued the layoffs were unfair. Infosys terminated around 350–400 trainees on February 7 after they failed internal assessments thrice, stating this was part of its standard evaluation process.
The Labour Department’s interim report asserted that private firms have autonomy over their hiring and evaluation methods. It also noted that Infosys had offered outplacement support, severance benefits, and counselling to the dismissed trainees.
Labour Minister Santhosh Lad had directed inspections at Infosys’s Mysuru and Bengaluru campuses, revealing that while over 600 trainees from the 2022 batch advanced, 329 failed to meet the required criteria. Officials, however, questioned the company’s terminology regarding employment status.
Despite the clearance, NITES remains dissatisfied and has warned of possible protests, demanding better transparency and safeguards for trainees in the IT sector.
NITES Warns of Protest Over Infosys Trainee Layoffs
Infosys Halts Trainee Assessments Amid Layoff Controversy
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