2 weeks Ago
Infosys has terminated the services of 240 trainees from its apprenticeship programme after they failed to clear internal assessment tests, according to a report by The Times of India citing company emails dated 18 April. This follows a similar move earlier in the same week when the IT major laid off 300 other trainees for not meeting performance benchmarks. The affected trainees were part of the company’s ‘Generic Foundation Training Programme’ and were given multiple opportunities to meet the qualifying criteria.
Infosys had reportedly provided additional preparation time, multiple doubt-clearing sessions, mock assessments, and allowed up to three attempts to pass. Despite these efforts, the trainees did not meet the required standards. As part of the severance, Infosys has offered one month’s pay and outplacement support to the impacted individuals.
In addition, the company is facilitating free upskilling opportunities through partnerships with NIIT and UpGrad. These include a 12-week training programme for potential roles in the business process management (BPM) industry and a four-week course on IT fundamentals. Both programmes are open to the trainees let go in the latest round as well as those dismissed earlier this week.
Upon successful completion of these courses, trainees will have the opportunity to apply for roles at Infosys BPM. The layoffs come as the company reported subdued financial performance for the quarter and year ended March 2025. Infosys posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 7,033 crore in Q4FY25, marking a 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline from Rs 7,969 crore in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 40,925 crore, an 8 per cent increase over the previous year’s Rs 37,923 crore, but still fell short of analyst expectations. The operating margin was reported at 21 per cent, a 0.9 percentage point increase from the previous year, but a 0.
3 point decline sequentially. Given the tepid performance, brokerages have reduced their target prices for Infosys stock. The company has projected a modest revenue growth of 0 per cent to 3 per cent in constant currency terms for the upcoming fiscal year, with an expected operating margin between 20-22 per cent.
Infosys added only 199 employees during the March quarter, a sharp slowdown compared to the 5,591 employees onboarded between October and December. The company's total headcount now stands at 3,23,578. Despite the cautious hiring trend, Infosys has announced plans to hire 20,000 freshers in the 2026 financial year.
.
