20,000 ‘silent layoffs’ in 2023 reported by Indian IT & ITeS Employees Union – Trak.in

According to data shared by All India IT & ITeS Employees’ Union (AIITEU), there has been a “silent layoff” of around 20,000 technicians in the calendar year 2023 in the Indian IT sector.

Additionally, according to sources, these numbers are actually higher and are reported across IT services companies of all sizes with AIITEU.

According to the article, there are many big names including TCS, Infosys, LTI-Mindtree, Tech Mahindra and Wipro; with the exception of the sole addition of employees by HCLTech.

What is “silent dismissal”?

This is a situation in which employees are asked to leave their jobs discreetly or unexpectedly.

There are many ways to conduct silent layoffs, including not renewing contracts, reducing work hours, offering early retirement options, or simply not filling vacant positions.

According to the IT employees union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), between 2,000 and 3,000 professionals will lose their jobs in 2024.

Job insecurity in tech: layoffs, nondisclosure agreements, and longer hours

Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, said, “Companies fire their employees in many ways, and those who resist will be fired (immediately). Once your relief letter marks you as “terminated”, then it becomes very difficult for that person to find another job.

Saubhik Bhattacharya, general secretary of AIITEU, said employees are also asked to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), in some cases, to get their full payment.

The same situation has been reciprocal in the global tech space, with Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, Intel, SAP and others announcing job cuts over the past 12-18 months.

Companies, in order to reduce their workforce and improve their profit margins, also increase the number of hours worked by each employee.