An IT labor union claims that Amazon India’s layoffs are illegal. Amazon India’s layoffs, according to the National Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), are illegitimate, inaccurate, and unjustifiable. NITES is a union for IT and IT-related professionals. The law of the country is above Amazon’s policy.
According to an internal dispatch that the sources have entered, Amazon has lately distributed information on a voluntary separation program (VSPP) to its workers in India, inviting them to leave their jobs willingly to take advantage of the program’s perks…However, they will be laid off without any benefits if they refuse to engage in i., If an employee is a member of a pool optimization program, Workers at Amazon have until November 30 to submit the VSP program forms.
The state labor relations authorities and the Union Government have both been asked by NITES to look into the allegedly unlawful layoffs. According to the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, an employer isn’t permitted to fire any workers without first obtaining the blessing of the applicable government. The company must explain the layoffs to the authorities and apologize for any future ones.
After hearing from both parties, the applicable government agency will decide whether or not to authorize the layoff. According to the letter, “a layoff is a case” where employers are forced to refuse work to their pool due to circumstances that bring forth a temporary incapability to keep their business going, which is not the script in Amazon’s case.
The spirit of Indian labor laws, which are intended to cover workers’ rights, has been flagrantly violated. Huge job cuts are largely unlikely in India. Workers in Amazon’s India headquarters are still doubtful of their futures after the company launched its first-ever mass layoff exercise, which would allegedly result in the elimination of 100,000 positions.
Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide, with 4,000 workers in India making up around 7 percent of the total. India’s Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Gurugram all house Amazon services. The leadership has given us significant objectives for the forthcoming time. As stated in the letter, India would be a high-priority market, and a top Amazon official stated on the condition of anonymity.
Another elderly superintendent grounded in Bangalore claimed that most Indian brigades haven’t yet heard about the layoffs and that there’s a worry atmosphere among the staff. Although some media reports claim that hundreds of Amazon workers in India will lose their jobs, Indian directors are optimistic that layoffs will be less severe in India than in other countries. As of right now, numerous Indians with H-1B visas who are employed in the US and Canada have been impacted by Amazon’s job cuts in the device, Alexa, Palla Gaming, and Luna verticals.
According to US immigration laws, H-1B visa holders who lose their jobs must find new employment within 60 days of being fired or quitting, or they will be required to return to their home country. I couldn’t confirm how many people work in the R&D, Alexa, and Luna verticals in India. Numerous workers in India, from position L1 to L7, have reportedly been placed under Performance Improvement Plans (PIPss), which have stricter deadlines, according to some software inventors.
An Amazon employed claimed that t the SDE tasks aren’t fluently attainable within a constrained timeframe,e and there’s a brewing fear that the company might be trying to cut some of the staff. The retailer reportedly handed a voluntary severance payment to the part of its labor force in an internal communication to its Indian workers, according to a story from the Deccan Herald.
A lump sum severance payout equal to 22 weeks’ worth of base pay, one week’s base pay for every six months of service (up to a maximum benefit of 20 weeks paid severance), six months of medical insurance content, and a notice period or pay in lieu are all included in the package.
The voluntary layoff plan will go into effect in December, according to the review Amazon’s deals and profit increased in Q3 2022 compared to the previous quarter, but the company decided to lay off workers due to worries about an impending recession. In a conference call with journalists, Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s finance chief, said, “We’re seeing signs all around that people’s budgets are tight, inflation is still high, and energy costs are a fresh sub caste.”
He continued, “We’re preparing for what may be a slower growth period.” Amazon is a long way from being profitable in India. Still, it was suitable to reduce its loss in FY22 from 23 YoY to INR 649 Cr. In India, the company with its headquarters in Seattle faces fierce competition from Reliance, Tata Group, and Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart. Also, it’s the subject of multitudinous examinations and legal controversies for alleged violations of the nation’s competition laws and restrictions on foreign investment.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
