Infosys, one of India’s leading IT companies, has recently come under scrutiny for delaying the onboarding of nearly 2,000 freshers who were offered roles in 2022. This delay has sparked concern among the affected candidates, raising questions about the broader implications for the IT industry and the career trajectories of these young professionals.
Credits: MoneyControl
Overview of the Delay
The delayed onboarding process has affected freshers who were selected for the roles of System Engineers and Digital Specialist Engineers. These candidates were offered positions in 2022, but despite completing multiple pre-training sessions, they have yet to be integrated into the company. The pre-training sessions, intended as preparatory steps before full training in Mysore, have been ongoing, with some candidates recently being asked to take another round of assessments in August 2023.
Concerns have arisen as many candidates have not received credentials to access the pre-training sessions, creating further frustration and uncertainty. The prolonged delay has led to apprehension among the candidates, some of whom have been waiting for over two years since initially receiving their offer letters.
Impact on Candidates
The candidates themselves will be most directly impacted. These young professionals now have an uncertain future ahead of them after putting a lot of time and attention into the hiring and training process. Many of them have postponed other possibilities in the hopes of landing a job at Infosys. Their career goals have been upset by the continuous delays, but they have also experienced financial hardship because they are stuck in a precarious situation and are unable to find steady work.
The significance of this delay’s psychological effects cannot be overstated. Fresh graduates may have less faith in big businesses as a result of their irritation and anxiety over unclear communication and their careers being put on indefinite hold. This may affect how young people see job chances in the IT field in the long run.
Potential Legal and Regulatory Ramifications
The Pune-based Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has taken up the cause of these affected candidates, filing a request with the Ministry of Labour & Employment to investigate Infosys for what they describe as “exploitation and unprofessional treatment” of the graduates. If the ministry takes action, it could set a precedent for how similar cases are handled in the future.
This situation could also lead to stricter regulations around hiring practices and onboarding processes in the IT industry. Companies may be required to adhere to more stringent timelines for onboarding or face penalties. This, in turn, could impact how companies plan their recruitment drives, potentially leading to more conservative hiring practices to avoid similar situations.
Broader Industry Implications
The delayed onboarding at Infosys is not an isolated incident; it reflects broader trends within the IT industry. The industry has been grappling with a slowdown, driven by fears of a looming recession in major markets and a reduction in discretionary spending by clients. This has led to a multi-decadal decline in headcounts across many companies, including Infosys.
Infosys itself has significantly reduced its campus hiring, from over 50,000 freshers in the financial year 2022-23 to just under 12,000 in FY23-24. This downturn in hiring signals a cautious approach by IT companies, who are preparing for potential economic challenges by slowing down recruitment and focusing on optimizing their current workforce.
The industry’s overall slowdown could have a cascading effect on the job market, especially for fresh graduates. As companies become more hesitant to onboard new employees, the competition for available roles will increase, potentially leading to a talent glut. This could push many young professionals to explore alternative career paths, potentially outside of the traditional IT sector.
Conclusion
The affected applicants as well as the larger IT sector are significantly impacted by Infosys’ delay in onboarding freshers. Young professionals have become frustrated and mistrustful of the organization despite its prudent reaction to economic challenges due to unclear information and protracted delays. As events develop, they may lead to changes in regulations and affect the recruiting policies of other IT firms, so influencing the direction of the sector.
