This is a nightmare for me: Techies outrage over IT layoffs on social media

Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant and other IT majors are handing out pink slips

"This is like a nightmare for me," writes an anonymous former Cognizant employee on Quora regarding the recent mass layoffs at the information technology (IT) major. As reported in March this year, Cognizant is said to be reducing its employee count by as much as five per cent, which translates to close to 10,000 workers. Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra have also either started handing out pink slips or are in the process.   

After fairing poorly in the current appraisal cycle, the poster was asked to resign. The poster writes, "... I am jobless after 3.4 years of experience... I have never expected this. I didnt get the opportunity to work at all. During my last project I worked very hard but the time was not with me for the whole year (sic)." (See the full post below) 

"I hate trump...," writes another former employee of Cognizant who faced the axe after the appraisal cycle. The post goes on to say, "i remember the day he was elected... never thought it had so much direct impact on my life/career. the orange-face has taken 6000+ people's jobs from just 1 company. More to follow (sic)." The post was on the Infosys Confessions page on Facebook, where all content is published anonymously by default. 

Clearly, the current carnage in the IT sector is weighing heavily on the minds of techies and programmers. Another post on the aforementioned Facebook page said, "With the present layoffs, cost cutting, AC/Fan controlling etc..Now mosquitoes playing around in cubicles (sic)."

Even people who have not had the misfortune of being caught up in the pink slip-rain are wary of joining IT majors which have seen mass layoffs. A former employee of Infosys posts on the page that despite being offered a lucrative position, on contractual basis and with a 200 per cent hike, the prospect of going back to Infosys is "completely risky" given the recent spate of layoffs. "May be moving out of Infy was the best decision I made in the last few years (sic)," the post says.   

The IT sector has been feeling the pinch in recent months. Late in April, Wipro sacked around 500 of its employees as part of its appraisal process. 

As reported earlier, Infosys could hand out pink slips to hundreds of mid- and senior-level employees as it carries out bi-annual performance review amid a challenging business environment.

On Wednesday, software services firm Tech Mahindra joined the bandwagon and reportedly sacked a thousand-odd employees this month.  

The churn in the IT sector — which is moving towards increasing automation, use of artificial intelligence and is beset by tightening visa regulations — is likely to affect mid-level employees with 10-15 years of experience the most, as many are averse to learning new skills, industry experts have said. (Read more)

Further, Indian IT firms are witnessing their slowest growth in a decade, while global firms are shifting their budgets from traditional IT services to newer areas such as digital and cloud, which require engineers to engage with clients instead of working remotely. Even as this shift takes hold of the sector, automation is increasingly taking over low-end maintenance work, forcing companies to shift workers to other projects and reduce hiring from campuses. 

Screenshot of an anonymous answer to a question regarding the recent layoffs at Cognizant on Quora. Photo: Quora