The summary terminations of over three hundred (Actual numbers not confirmed) Trainees by Infosys has prompted Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) to file a complaint Before the ministry of labour and employment Govt. of India as per media reports.
The association has alleged unlawful termination of trainees at Mysuru Campus of Infosys and demanded immediate intervention of authorities.
According to NITES, Infosys recently asked around 700 trainees to resign, citing performance-based terminations. These employees were recruited over two years ago but were only onboarded in October 2023. NITES claims that the terminations violate provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and raise concerns about corporate accountability in hiring commitments.
In a letter to Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja urged the ministry toConduct an immediate investigation into the terminations, Issue a restraining order to prevent further dismissals without due process and Reinstate the affected employees with appropriate compensation for wrongful termination.
According to the media reports, terminated trainees comprise approximately half of the new trainees joined in October 2024.
The trainees had completed basic training at the company’s Mysuru campus but were unable to pass the internal assessment after three attempts, according to sources quoted by PTI.
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In a statement, Infosys said, “At Infosys, we have a rigorous hiring process where all freshers, after undergoing extensive foundational training at our Mysuru campus, are expected to clear internal assessments. All freshers get three attempts to clear the assessment, failing which they will not be able to continue with the organisation, as is also mentioned in their contract.”
Infosys, has also contested the claims, stating that the actual number of affected employees is fewer than 350 and that the departures were part of a longstanding internal assessment process.
The company asserts that this performance evaluation system has been in place for over two decades to maintain a high standard of talent for its clients.
While Infosys has framed these exits as mutual separations, NITES claims that the process lacked transparency and fairness.
The Money Control in its report cited a trainee who alleged that the test conducted was “very tough” and “made to fail.”
“This is unjustified because the tests were very tough and made to fail us, many trainees have fainted as the future looks bleak now,” the trainee who was terminated told the news portal.
According to Moneycontrol, the terminations took place in a highly controlled environment, with batches of about 50 trainees being summoned early in the morning on February 7. They were reportedly ushered into a room, guarded by security personnel and bouncers, and informed under strict confidentiality not to discuss the situation with others.
Moneycontrol report has now revealed that sacked trainees were asked to leave the campus the same day, their pleas to be allowed to stay the night falling on deaf ears.
A terminated trainee by Infosys told Moneycontrol that a female colleague, whose employment was also terminated, tearfully begged the management to let her spend the night on campus.
“Please let me stay the night. I will leave tomorrow. Where will I go right now,” she pleaded tearfully on February 7, after she was asked to vacate the Mysuru campus immediately.
Infosys refused to pay heed to her repeated requests, reported Moneycontrol.
“We don’t know. You are no longer part of the company. Vacate the premises by 6 pm,” an Infosys official told the trainee, as claimed by her colleague.
The new Indian Express Reported that several former trainees have raised concerns over the stricter eligibility criteria introduced for the 2024 batch. Allegedly, changes to the evaluation system made assessments more challenging, with trainers warning that many trainees would struggle.
As of now, there are concerns that up to 4,500 trainees still in training may face a similar fate if they do not meet the new benchmarks.
The evaluation system itself has also undergone significant changes.
In the previous structure, trainees were required to clear two phases: generic and technology stream, with an overall passing rate of 50 percent. But, the current system imposes far stricter requirements, including a minimum of 65 percent in each area of evaluation.
Additionally, the syllabus has been greatly expanded, leaving trainees with insufficient time to complete the required coursework, especially given the extended hours of self-study required.
For instance, the programming fundamentals section now spans approximately 120 hours, while the total study time required for all subjects amounts to around 200 hours, though trainees are expected to study an additional eight hours daily outside of formal training hours.
Such changes have led to a marked increase in failure rates. Of the 930 trainees who joined the programme on October 7, 2024, only around 160 passed on their first attempt, and over 630 failed by January 2025. The termination rate, once below 10 percent, has now surged to as high as 30-40 percent
Additionally, there are concerns about unfair overlap in the syllabus, with trainees in support roles like system engineers now facing the same stringent assessments as specialist programmers, who have much higher salary expectations.
Previously, the exams were tailored to specific job roles, but now, all trainees are subjected to the same tests, leading to complaints about the disproportionate difficulty, particularly for those in lower-paying positions,” reported The New Indian Express.
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