Wipro has cited a “realignment of business needs” as the reason for laying off at least 120 employees in the state of Florida, USA, and has characterized it as an isolated occurrence.
Not the first time
In India, Wipro had already laid off 452 fresh employees in January, citing inadequate performance in internal assessment tests.
The upcoming layoffs in Florida, USA, are expected to be permanent and will commence in May.
Official statement
According to the company, every entry-level employee is expected to have a certain level of proficiency in their designated area of work.
The evaluation process, which is systematic and comprehensive, is used to align employees with the requirements of clients and the organization’s business objectives.
If employees do not meet the required level of proficiency, the company follows a series of actions such as mentoring, retraining, and separation of employees from the company.
This is how the company clarified its position on the layoffs.
Area affected
Wipro filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, which provided details of the layoffs.
The affected employees will be laid off at a single location in Tampa, Florida, and more than 100 of them are processing agents, with the remaining being team leaders and a team manager, according to Channel Futures.
However, Wipro confirmed that it remains committed to the region, and the layoffs would only affect a specific group of employees, leaving all other Wipro employees serving clients in the Tampa area unaffected.
Slashing freshers’ salaries
Like other companies in the industry, Wipro has also been affected by the trend of layoffs.
The company has recently asked some of its fresh recruits, who were initially offered a salary of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum, if they would be willing to settle for Rs 3.5 lakh per annum instead.
These recruits, who were hired for the Turbo programme, were informed that they would be placed in the Elite programme instead, which offers a lower salary.
Global presence
Wipro has a workforce of approximately 20,500 employees distributed across the United States, Canada, and LATAM (Mexico and Brazil), with the Americas region accounting for nearly 60% of the company’s global revenues.
Additionally, Wipro has more than 250,000 employees and business partners operating in 66 countries worldwide.
