Telangana labour department calls Cognizant to discuss layoffs

CHENNAI: The first sign of the government getting a foot into the narrative of large layoffs in the IT sector emerged on Tuesday with the Telangana government calling for a meeting with Cognizant over the termination orders. The joint commissioner of labour with the Telangana government R Chandra Shekaram has sent a letter to the management of Cognizant.

A joint meeting has been fixed in Hyderabad on Thursday noon to resolve the issue amicably. “I can confirm that a meeting has been called for with Cognizant. Some employees have alleged they have been forced to resign, while some are expecting termination orders. But, at this point, one should not pass a judgement before hearing the other side,” Shekaram told ET. In Tamil Nadu – home to a large portion of the IT workforce – the state labour commissioner has been urged to immediately intervene, although no formal conciliation proceedings have been filed.

Meanwhile, a Cognizant spokesperson said: “Cognizant has not conducted any layoffs. Each year, as is the best practice across our industry, we conduct performance reviews to ensure we have the right employee skill sets necessary to meet client needs and achieve our business goals.

This process results in changes, including some employees transitioning out of the company. Any actions as the result of this process are performance-based and generally consistent with those we’ve made in previous years. In the March quarter, we hired thousands of professionals — top talent from campuses as well as from the lateral market. We are continuing to enhance our capabilities for roles across all our practice areas and expanding facilities globally.”

Earlier, Forum for IT Employees (FITE) – the labour front that is mobilising support against the layoffs – had helped an employee go to court over a termination by Tata Consultancy Services. FITE plans to consult the labour departments of Karnataka and West Bengal over the terminations.

Industry veteran TV Mohandas Pai says the layoffs have to be viewed in the context of the slow growth of IT companies, the urgent need to realign cost bases and the fact that attrition is generally high in the sector.