Mumbai based IT firm Hexaware Technologies has come under the scanner for firing 800 employees in Pune and Mumbai. The firm which employs more than 19,000 globally has been served a legal notice by the government in this regard.

The notice has been issued by the Labor Commissioner, based on a complaint filed by the National Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which is a nonprofit dedicated to the welfare of IT employees. NITES received complaints from Hexaware employees, which stated that Hexaware has fired 200 employees, not allowing them to serve notice period, and not paying them salaries for the last three months.

The firm also unfairly asked the employees to consider these 3 months as the notice period during which period they were asked to look for a job outside. 

The company finds itself in a soup given that the move was undertaken to maintain profitability on account of COVID-19. However, as per a state government notification in Maharashtra, no company is allowed to cut the salaries or the jobs of its workforce during the lockdown. 

Consequently, based on the complaint filed by NITES, the Labor Commissioner office has issued a notice to Hexaware, wherein they have been asked to reverse their decision and pay full salaries to the employees. 

The IT firm which generated more $790 Mn of revenues last year is however not the only firm facing heat on account of layoffs during the lockdown. Other IT firms such as Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and KPIT Technologies also received notices from the labor commissioner over either benching staff or reducing suspended shift allowances.