A look at Infosys' controversies on hiring, work culture

The latest controversy around the layoffs at Infosys is not the first time, the tech giant has faced several backlashes in the past, including delays in hiring and working hours.

Last year Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy faced criticism on social media for advocating a 70-hour workweek. The business tycoon expressed disappointment over India’s shift from a six-day to a five-day workweek, which occurred in 1986. “I don’t believe in work-life balance,” Murthy said.

Decoding Narayana Murthy: A look at his most controversial statements

During the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit, Murthy said that hard work and dedication are crucial for India’s economic growth. He added that Indians should work 70 hours a week to contribute to the nation’s progress.

Further, Infosys was embroiled in another controversy regarding the delay in onboarding freshers.

Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an NGO that works for the welfare of IT and ITES organizations, filed a request with the Ministry of labour & employment to investigate Infosys’ repeated delays in onboarding over 2,000 campus recruits in June 2024.

Infosys debunks layoff claims, says 'have rigorous hiring process'

The software company issued offer letters to 2,000 campus recruits in September after a wait of two years. At that time, Infosys said the delay was due to the training session that candidates underwent for two years.

Infosys has a rigorous hiring process in which freshers get three attempts to clear the assessment. If the recruits fail the assessment, their contracts are terminated.

Infosys denies mass layoffs reports, says it has a 'rigorous hiring process'

In the latest case, the company axed 300 trainees after they failed to clear the internal assessments. Infosys laid off just over 300 recruits who underwent training at its Mysuru campus for two years.

In the fiscal year 2024, Infosys' headcount decreased by 25,994, with the total workforce standing at 317,240, representing a 7.5 percent annual decline. In FY 2024, the company hired approximately 11,900 college graduates, and attrition decreased to 12.6 percent.

In Q1 FY 2025, the company announced that it was planning to hire 15,000 to 20,000 freshers in 2024. The company's employee count declined by 2000 on a quarterly basis. In Q2, the company added 2,456 employees and reaffirmed its plan to onboard more than 15,000 freshers in FY25.