TCS, Infosys, Wipro and others issue advisories for employees in West Asia

Indian IT majors including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro suspend travel and urge staff in West Asia to stay indoors as the US-Israel-Iran conflict shuts airspace across the region

Indian IT services companies have issued travel advisories to their employees in the West Asia, asking them to stay indoors, follow government guidelines and stop non-essential travel altogether as the zone got involved in one of the biggest geopolitical crises in decades over the weekend.

 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT company, wrote in an internal email that it advised all its associates in the Middle East to stay indoors, avoid non-essential travel and “strictly follow guidance” issued by local authorities.

 

“TCS has suspended all incoming and outgoing travel to and from the West Asia region, including transit, as airspace across several countries remains closed,” according to the advisory on its internal portal Ultimatix. 

The company added that a call tree has been activated and associates in impacted and bordering regions are being contacted on priority, besides coordinating with the authorities and the Indian Embassy to track developments and provide timely updates as the situation evolves.

 

Similarly, Infosys has advised employees to defer their travel plans as a full-scale war broke out between the US, Israel and Iran on Saturday.

 

“We strongly advise employees scheduled to fly within the next 48 hours to check their respective airlines’ websites for the latest updates and consider deferring their travel plans. For employees in transit, please remain calm and follow the instructions provided by the airlines, which will offer the necessary assistance, as applicable,” an internal mail from Infosys said.

 

The company is also discouraging all non-essential travel until further notice and will provide all necessary travel advisories for those planning their official trips.

 

Indian IT companies have beefed up their presence in the West Asia in recent years as the nations there try to reduce their dependency solely on oil revenue and look for other sectors to boost growth. That means massive digital transformation and new opportunities in the region even as growth in the primary markets remains sluggish.

 

For TCS, the West Asia and Africa provided 2.3 per cent of the topline, while for Wipro, which also includes Asia Pacific as part of the zone, that contributed 11 per cent.

 

Wipro has sent an internal advisory to employees to follow local guidelines. The company has also asked them not to travel to the 11 countries in the region as airspace and airports remain closed. LTIM (formerly LTI Mindtree) said it has also asked employees to be cautious and avoid travel.