Job cuts: Tech Mahindra to layoff 1500; Blood bath continues in India's IT sector

By Muqbil Ahmar

Tech Mahindra, India’s fifth-largest IT services firm, may lay off around 1,500 employees. This translates into approximately 1.2 per cent of the workforce. Tech Mahindra has around 117,000 employees globally, of which most are based in India. The layoffs are expected to cut across job levels.

There are reports that another technology major Infosys is planning to give pink slips to hundreds of mid- as well as senior-level employees. Other corporate giants such as Wipro and Cognizant have announced job cuts in the recent past in response to what some industry experts term as cost control measures.

The Information Technology (IT) major company says redundancies are part of the appraisal cycle. “We have a process of weeding out bottom performers every year and this year is no different,” said a company spokesperson in a statement.

Cognizant and Wipro gave pink slips to hundreds of employees

Cognizant, the Nasdaq-listed IT major, is firing at least 1,000 senior managers. Just a few months back, Cognizant laid off 6,000 employees. According to reports, the number could have gone up to 10,000. Cognizant has roughly 2,60,200 employees across the world, of whom 1,88,000 or around 72% are based in India. Wipro, India’s third largest software services company, is sacking 600 employees, whereas there is speculation the number may go up to 2,000. Other Information Technology (IT) Sector companies have also been laying off people left right and center, in what could be the most troubling times for the sector.

H1B visa reforms to blame? Jobs shift to USA as multinational firms focus on local hires

Infosys has also said that it will hire 10,000 Americans in the coming two years as well as open up four centers in the USA. Putting two and two together, it clearly seems the developments are linked to the tightening of visa norms by the USA, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Although, the exact numbers have not been divulged as to the number of people facing the firings, reports suggest they would be in hundreds. With the news, the IT major is perhaps prepping up the ground for mass layoffs.

Global visa restrictions (H1B) and automation hit IT sector hard

India’s IT companies have been facing a tumultuous and uncertain environment in the wake of worker visa restrictions being put by various countries such USA, Singapore,and New Zealand. No visas have been issued by Singapore for Indian IT professionals since January 2016. The city-state apparently wants to hire locally. Indian IT firms based in Singapore will have a tough time doing that.

Most IT firms used to import talent from India for their operations, which was very profitable for them due to low wages and lower costs. Indian IT companies generally use temporary work visas in order to send employees for work. The companies have been hit hard, with serious consequences for Indian IT companies.

Moreover, as companies and organizations increasingly go for automation and new-age technologies such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Virtual Reality, Deep Learning, among others, jobs are getting drastically slashed. The phenomenon has already started showing its effects with regular job cuts across the Information Technology sector, which could seriously impact India's economy and growth.

Author Bio: I am a writer, editor, columnist, technology evangelist, tech blogger, film critic, theater activist, journalist, but basically a storyteller and blogger at heart. I also write on social issues, startups, SMEs, technology, environment, economy, women empowerment, and arts and culture. I am also a theater activist. Music, theater, films are my passions. You can visit my blog https://muqbilahmarwordpress.wordpress.com/. I invite bloggers, writers, technology evangelists, and others to connect with me on Twitter @muqbil_ahmar, LinkedIn and Facebook.