The Karnataka Labour Department has cleared Infosys of any labour law violations related to the recent termination of trainees at its Mysuru campus. A senior labour department official confirmed to the Money Control that the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. “We may submit a final report to the government on March 4” the official stated. Big Relief To Infosys According to the department the trainees were not regular employees of Infosys but were undergoing apprenticeship training. “They were all only trainees and some underwent training for three months. We cannot call it a layoff so these labour laws are not applicable in such cases. A layoff applies only when there is regular employment. There is no employer-employee relationship at all”  claimed the Money Control report citing a source. The department based its decision on documentary evidence collected during its investigation which was initiated after allegations of mass layoffs surfaced. Trainee Termination At Mysuru Campus On February 7 Infosys terminated the contracts of around 350-400 trainees at its Mysuru campus after they failed to pass evaluation tests in three consecutive attempts. These trainees who had waited nearly two years for onboarding before joining in October 2024 represented nearly half of the batch. The decision sparked widespread controversy from IT employees’ unions with the National Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) condemning the move. NITES alleged that Infosys pressured trainees into signing mutual separation letters and used bouncers during the process. Labour Department Investigation Following these allegations the Union Labour Ministry directed Karnataka’s Labour Commissioner and Labour Secretary to investigate the matter. Labour department officials visited Infosys campuses in Bengaluru and Mysuru on February 13 to assess the situation. However Infosys maintained that its actions were in line with its policies. The company clarified that trainees who fail to meet performance benchmarks during foundational training cannot continue with the organization. Infosys’ Response Infosys has reiterated that the terminations were not layoffs but were based on the company’s existing evaluation criteria. The company stated that trainees who do not pass the assessments are not retained as per its policies.