Silent layoffs hit India’s IT sector; 20,000 jobs lost in 2023: report

Amid rising layoffs, IT sector employees have been among the hardest hit.

Around 20,000 tech sector employees lost their jobs in silent layoffs in 2023, according to data from the All India IT & ITeS Employees’ Union or AIITEU, cited by Moneycontrol. The union suggests the real number could be even higher due to unreported cases.

Quiet dismissals are said to be common practice in the sector. This involves giving employees 30 days to find a new role within the company, failing which, employees are asked to leave discreetly.

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In some cases, employees are also asked to sign an NDA to get their full payment, the AIITEU secretary general told Money Control, adding that with the reduction in shifts, existing employees are forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day instead of 10 to 12 hours. hours a day earlier.

The Moneycontrol report also cites data from the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate or NITES, which reports that 2,000 to 3,000 professionals lost their jobs in India’s largest IT services companies in 2024 alone.