Silent Layoffs Hit Indian IT Sector, Affecting Over 20,000 Employees
According to data from the All India IT & ITeS Employees' Union, approximately 20,000 tech professionals were affected by 'silent' layoffs in the calendar year 2023.
India's IT sector laid off approximately 20,000 tech professionals in 2023 through a process known as "silent layoffs," according to data from the All India IT & ITeS Employees' Union (AIITEU), as reported by Moneycontrol.
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These layoffs occurred across IT services companies of various sizes. The AIITEU believes the actual number is higher and remains unreported, according to Moneycontrol.
According to a Times of India article, major companies like TCS, Infosys, LTI-Mindtree, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro were involved, with only HCLTech adding employees.
A "silent layoff" refers to the discreet or unannounced termination of employees, as explained in a Medium article discussing such practices in America's major tech companies.
Silent layoffs can manifest in various ways, such as not renewing contracts, reducing work hours, offering early retirement options, or leaving vacant positions unfilled, according to Medium.
According to the IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), approximately 2,000 to 3,000 professionals from India's leading IT companies lost their jobs in 2024 alone.
"Companies are using various methods to remove employees, and those who resist face immediate termination. Once someone is marked as 'terminated' on their relieving letter, it becomes very difficult for them to find another job," Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, told Moneycontrol.
Employees are sometimes required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to receive their full payout, stated Saubhik Bhattacharya, General Secretary of AIITEU, to Moneycontrol.
This situation reflects a global trend in the tech industry, with companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, Intel, and SAP announcing job cuts over the past 12-18 months, according to the Times of India.
In an effort to downsize and enhance profit margins, companies are also extending the working hours of their employees, as noted by Saubhik Bhattacharya in an interview with Moneycontrol.
