BENGALURU: IT major Cognizant’s reported plan to lay off 6,000 employees has left software professionals in the city worried. They believe that such a decision could have been triggered by several factors, including low performance, automation and delay in implementation of GST causing firms to withhold projects.
Sampada Jain, employed in the finance division of a top MNC, told Express that several companies have frozen hiring for the last two quarters. Even among employees, only a few will get salary hikes this year, she said.
“All these factors reflect the trend in the IT industry. Consulting firms have been the worst hit,” she said.
Even employees of a single firm are affected differently, said Sumanth Rao, an HR professional at an Indian software firm. “One of the steps companies have taken recently is to drastically reduce the number of people who are working on site,” he said.
Network engineer Rajesh K said, “Six months ago, our firm briefed us about changes the company might undergo due to automation. AI can replace half the service sector jobs in a decade or less.”
Shruthi Bangera, a software engineer, said only companies which have been paying high salaries have been reducing staff. “You don’t see such trends in Infosys and TCS. Low-performers are sent home every year, but there has not been mass layoffs,” she said.