BENGALURU: At a time when the IT sector is facing several headwinds, the country’s third largest software services firm Wipro is trimming its workforce. According to sources, Wipro has sacked about 600 employees as part of its annual performance appraisals, while speculation was rife that the number could go as high as 2,000.
Wipro sources said that it “undertakes a rigorous performance appraisal process on a regular basis to align its workforce with the business objectives, strategic priorities of the organisation, and requirements of our clients”.“The performance appraisal may also lead to the separation of some employees from the company and these numbers vary from year to year,” said Wipro in a statement. The company, however, did not comment on the number of employees that have been asked to leave.
The move comes even as Indian IT firms have reduced campus hiring and moved workers whose roles have been marginalised through automation to different projects. At the end of December 2016, the Bengaluru-based company had over 1.79 lakh employees.
A focus on automation in the sector and US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies have greatly affected the Indian IT sector over the last few months. With visa programmes in various countries like the US, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand becoming more and more rigorous, Indian IT companies are likely to face challenges in movement of labour as well as a spike in operational costs.