Silent layoffs in Indian IT sector affect over 20,000 techies: Which companies cut most jobs?

India’s IT sector laid off around 20,000 techies during the calendar year 2023, in a manner known as a “silent layoff,” according to data shared by All India IT & ITeS Employees’ Union (AIITEU), as reported by Moneycontrol.

These layoffs happened across IT services companies of all sizes with AIITEU believing that the actual number is higher and yet to be reported, Moneycontrol said in the report.

The big names include TCS, Infosys, LTI-Mindtree, Tech Mahindra and Wipro; with only HCLTech adding employees, according to a Times of India article.

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A “silent layoff” refers to a situation where employees are let go or have their employment terminated in a discreet or unannounced manner, according to a Medium article on such layoffs in America’s big tech companies.

Silent layoffs can take different forms, including not renewing contracts, reducing work hours, offering early retirement options, or simply not filling vacant positions, Medium wrote.

Around 2,000-3,000 professionals from India’s top IT companies lost their jobs in 2024 alone, according to IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES).

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“There are multiple ways in which companies are removing employees, and those who resist will be terminated (immediately). Once your relieving letter marks you as “terminated”, then it becomes very difficult for that person to find another job,” Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES told Moneycontrol.

Employees are also made to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), in some cases, to get their full payout, said Saubhik Bhattacharya, General Secretary of AIITEU to Moneycontrol.

This situation mirrors the global tech industry, with Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, Intel, SAP and others announcing job cuts in the last 12-18 months, Times of India reported.

With the intention to downsize and improve profit margins, companies are also increasing the number of hours each employee works, Saubhik Bhattacharya told Moneycontrol.

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