Amazon summoned by Pune Labour Commissioner over layoffs

Amazon (Image: AP)

With Amazon announcing layoffs, Pune’s labour commissioner’s office has sent a notice to the e-commerce giant, calling for a meeting on January 17 over the sackings as well as the so-called Voluntary Separation Program.

The notice issued by the Assistant Labour Commissioner in Pune reads: “....it is hereby informed that a joint meeting has to be held in front of the undersigned in his hall on 17/01/2023 at 03:00 PM regarding the lay-off of workers in your establishment/factory.”

Representatives of the management and trade union should be present with the necessary documents and records as well as the power of attorney, the notice said.

Amazon was yet to respond to Moneycontrol's queries about the notice. The report will be updated when the response comes in.

In November 2022, Amazon offered a “voluntary separation” offer to some Indian employees in the Amazonian Experience and Technology team.

“As a first step, we are giving employees an opportunity to volunteer for the severance programme,” it said. Employees from entry to senior level (L1 to L7) were eligible for it.

Those who took it up were offered a lump sum severance equivalent to 22 weeks base pay, one week base salary for every six months of services up to a maximum of 20 weeks, medical insurance for six months and notice period or pay in lieu of it.

The notice to Amazon by the Pune labour commissioner was issued on a complaint by the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which termed the Voluntary Separation Policy as illegal. NITES is an NGO working for the welfare of IT/ITES and its related sector employees.

In a statement, NITES president Harpreet Singh Saluja said the livelihood of thousands of employees and their families was made illegal.

Saluja said that Amazon employees were "unethically forced to opt for Voluntary Separation Policy and were laid-off illegally".

As per the procedure laid down in the Industrial Dispute Act, the employer cannot, without prior permission from the appropriate government, lay off an employee featuring on the muster rolls of the establishment, he said.

A worker who has served continuously for at least a year cannot be retrenched unless served a notice three months in advance and prior permission from the appropriate government.

The application has to be submitted by the employer along with the reason for why the employee is being retrenched, which is then scrutinised.

Amazon “clearly violated” the Indian labour laws, Saluja alleged. “The voluntary separation policy implemented was never submitted to the labour ministry for review which is a violation of the existing labour laws,” he said.

Amazon has also appeared in front of the deputy chief labour commissioner in Bengaluru over the same issue and reportedly told the official it was voluntary to opt for the programme and no one was sacked.

Last week, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said some employees had been offered the VSP and added that overall, 18,000 roles would be eliminated across the company. Impacted employees will be informed from January 18 onwards.