Infosys has blasted a newspaper report that claimed it was planning to fire up to 5,000 poorly performing workers, despite admitting that it encourages "chronic underperformers" to leave the firm.
The Economic Times newspaper had earlier said Bangalore-based Infosys, India's second-largest software services exporter and an icon in the country's $100 billion outsourcing sector, was sacking up to 5,000 workers to trim costs.
Infosys, which has more than 150,000 staff, said there was no mass lay-off planned at the company and the number of underperformers that could potentially leave was "significantly lower" than the 5,000 mentioned in the paper.
"We have a robust performance management system that includes structured appraisals and performance feedback," it said in a statement. "This is done regularly and is not a one-time event."
Infosys, for years an investor favorite for exceeding its earnings targets, has struggled recently as its big customers cut costs, missing its own revenue guidance in three of the past four quarters.
The software exporter may cut its revenue forecast for the year to March when it reports its December quarter earnings on January 11, as US business clients put off spending and balk at signing big deals.
With about 60 per cent of its business in the United States, Infosys is particularly vulnerable to swings in US corporate sentiment and has been hit hard by spending deferrals by the companies in the world's largest economy.
However, Infosys executive co-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan was quoted by other media reports on Friday as saying 2013 would be better than last year for India's export-driven information technology industry.
Gopalakrishnan was quoted as saying brighter prospects for the United States and China would help the IT sector, as he addressed an event for the Infosys Science Foundation on Thursday.
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