If the first half of 2019 was about the hike in recruitment by IT firms in India, the second half and especially last two months have been about terminations.
Cognizant, Infosys and Capgemini have already declared mass layoffs plans, in their respective organizations, and there is a sense of chaos and uncertaininity looming ahead.
Now, an industry veteran has claimed that more than 1.25 lakh IT employees can face terminations, in the coming days.
What is the base of this claim?
1.25 Lakh IT Employees Can Lose Their Jobs?
V Balakrishnan, who was the Chief Financial Officer at Infosys, and have more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry, is considered a veteran in this domain.
In a recent interaction with media, he claimed that 5-10% of all mid-level experienced IT employees in India can be asked to leave their jobs, in the coming days.
This middle layer of IT workforce, who are more than 5 years of experience in the industry, constitute 20-30% of the overall IT employees in India.
Broadly, there are 3-4 million IT employees in India, working in direct and indirect roles across small to large IT companies.
If 30% of all IT employees are in the middle layer, then it means that there are around 9,00,000 to 12,00,000 lakh employees in this category.
If V Balakrishnan is remotely true, then 5-10% of this category is 45,000 to 1,20,000 mid-level IT employees, who are on the edge, and can lose their jobs.
The Basis Of This Claim
As per Balakrishnan, there is lot ‘fat’ in the middle layer of IT firms at this moment, and now it’s high time that this extra ‘flab’ is removed.
He attributed to new-age technologies, as the trigger, which can initiate these firings.
Since automation needs less humans, it is clear that IT firms need to trim themselves, and make a lean arrangement of human resource.
He said, “Also, they have to get employees who understand new technologies, they have to get rid of some of the employees, who are more on the legacy, and try to attract talent which is more digital, that has to happen, there is no choice”,
He said that just like Infosys and Cognizant are terminating mid-level employees, other IT firms will too join the band-wagon, and in the coming days, lot of layoff news can be heard.
But he is optimist that IT industry, overall, is on a growth curve, as newer technologies are pushing new boundaries, and new-age skills such as AI, robotics, machine learning would be in demand.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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