In a major third round of layoffs, India’s second-largest IT services firm, Infosys, has laid off 195 trainees, citing failure in internal assessments. Infosys made a shocking cut in its workforce after two earlier rounds of eliminations. In February, the company dropped as many as 320 trainees, citing failure in internal assessments. It repeated the move earlier this month, laying off another 240 employees.
In the second round of layoffs, Infosys provided and funded training programs through NIIT and UpGrad. A total of 250 employees took advantage of this training, while another 150 signed up for job placement support (outplacement services).
Reason For Layoffs
The reason for the latest round of layoffs remains the same. “Further to assessment of the results of your final assessment attempt, please be informed that you have not met the qualifying criteria in the ‘generic foundation training programme’ despite the additional preparation time, doubt-clearing sessions, several mock assessments and three attempts,” said the information technology company’s email.
The layoff process followed a similar pattern to previous rounds—affected trainees received one month’s salary as ex gratia payment and a relieving letter. Reports also say that Infosys offered support through outplacement services, counselling, and external training to help them prepare for possible roles in the Business Process Management (BPM) industry.
Compensation
Employees affected by the layoffs will receive one month’s salary as compensation, along with outplacement support and training. They can choose between a 12-week training program aimed at roles in the business process management sector or a 24-week course focused on IT fundamentals.
Who’s Affected?
Infosys hired 15,000 trainees in FY25, but it impacted those it recruited in 2022 and who joined in October 2024. The company hired the laid-off trainees for roles as System Engineers (SE) and Digital Specialist Engineers (DSE). These layoffs are happening amid ongoing uncertainty in the global economic environment, which is affecting the IT industry as a whole. Despite this, Infosys has projected modest revenue growth of 0–3% for FY26 and plans to hire around 20,000 new employees during the same period.
Infosys has partnered with platforms like NIIT and UpGrad to offer free training programs for skill development. The company will cover all the costs for these programs, which are available to the trainees who were laid off since February.
