NEW DELHI: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has dismissed reports of mass layoffs by IT companies in India and claimed the industry continues to be a net hirer with talent acquisition continuing across sectors.
To support its claims the apex body representing the IT services companies stated that in the financial year 2017, the industry added 1.7 lakh new jobs while it added six lakh jobs in last three years. As on date, the sector has a total employee base of 3.9 million (95,000-one lakh employees in start-ups and 50,000-60,000 employees in e-Commerce).
NASSCOM paraded representatives from Cognizant, WIPRO, Tech Mahindra and MindTree who tried to allay the fears of large-scale layoffs.
They also highlighted that workforce realignment is a part of the regular exercise of yearly performance appraisal processes which only impacts 0.5-3% of the overall IT talent pool. Layoffs are an internal process of companies, where they look at their priorities and align talent.
“The sector remains one of the largest employers in the nation,” said Raman Roy, Chairman, NASSCOM.
NASSCOM, did admit of a gentle deceleration in the net hiring growth rate due to shifting focuses towards innovation, lower attrition and enhanced efficiencies. But the sector continues to hire fresh and lateral employees, said Roy.