News of mass layoffs in the IT sector has been doing the rounds for months now. The IT companies continue to deny mass layoffs, but evidence of 'illegal termination' of jobs keep surfacing.
In one such recent incident, an employee of a tech firm has circulated a recording of his conversation with an HR executive. In the 6.45-minute long audio clip, he is being asked to put in his papers as part of the company's "cost optimisation" plan.
“Cost optimisation is happening at the company. If you can put in papers by 10 am tomorrow we will be treating it as a normal exit if not, we will be sending you a termination letter,” the HR executive says.
The HR executive is heard asking the employee to resign as a part of a "corporate decision", leaving the employee with less than 24 hours to put down his papers.
"If you can put in your papers we will be treating it as a normal exit with June 15 as last working day, if not, we will be sending you a termination letter," the HR executive says.
The stunned employee is heard pleading for some time or at least be given some time to discuss the termination.
But the HR executive sternly tells the employee that there is no "flexibility" in the decision and that he is expected to put down his papers by 10 am the next day if he wishes to be paid his basic salary.
Leaving no space for further discussion on the matter, the HR executive firmly reminds him of a clause in his offer letter that states that the company reserves all rights to ask their associates to leave the company at any time by paying them the basic salary.
"If you read your offer letter you would know the clause under which we are asking you to leave. It was mentioned in the offer letter. Then, why did you accept the offer letter," she says.
moneycontrol.com reported that screenshot of the LinkedIn profile of the HR manager that came with the audio, purportedly from Tech Mahindra, was unavailable now.
The website also said that Tech Mahindra did not reply to their queries.
Though it is unclear when the audio was recorded and could not be independently verified, it has been in circulation for a few days.
This is not the first time news of wrongful termination by tech companies has surfaced. In January 2015, an audio clip allegedly recorded during an exit interview revealed the TCS plans to lay off employee who were underperforming.
Employees of IT industries are also trying to organise themselves in order to challenge 'illegal terminations'. Techies in Chennai protested in May this year under the banner of the New Democratic Labour Front (IT Wing) against Wipro, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, IBM and other IT companies, after a series of layoffs by these organisations.
According to reports, Wipro has sacked 600-700 employees, Cognizant has fired 6000-10000 employees and even Infosys has reportedly let off of 9,000 employees.
The Forum for IT Employees (FITE), a group representing workers in the IT sector had accused Cognizant of 'illegal termination' of employees in May this year.
Cognizant had however maintained that there were no retrenchments and this was part of their annual appraisal cycle.
