NEW DELHI, Oct. 27 -- Nearly 550 employees of Innodata India Pvt Ltd were reportedly laid off on Monday, October 26, with similar job cuts emerging in the Philippines, leaving several workers struggling to access official records and seek clarification about their sudden termination.
According to an India Today report, employees began losing access to their official laptops and company accounts during the working day, while termination notices were subsequently sent to their personal email addresses. A 28-year-old Delhi-based engineer, who was among those affected, said the day began normally, with employees logging in, marking attendance and carrying out their regular assignments. However, reports of layoffs began circulating around lunchtime, triggering confusion among workers. According to the employee, the first indication of trouble came when reports emerged that several members of the company's Philippines team, including raters, quality experts, team leaders and operational managers, had been dismissed during a Zoom meeting.
Employees in India subsequently checked the company's human resources portal and reportedly found that their payslips had already been generated, with October 26 recorded as their final working day. As workers contacted their managers and HR representatives seeking clarification, access to official devices and accounts began disappearing. The employee said managers also appeared unaware of the developments, while several workers were unable to retrieve their employment records before their accounts were disabled.
The report said nearly 550 employees in India were affected by the layoffs, although Innodata has not publicly confirmed the total number of workers whose employment was terminated. As uncertainty spread, employees reportedly created a WhatsApp group to identify colleagues who had also lost their jobs. By late evening, the group had attracted nearly 500 participants, according to one affected worker. However, it could not be independently established whether everyone in the group had been laid off. Several employees alleged that they received no direct communication from HR officials before their access was revoked, leaving them unable to download payslips and other important documents.
A termination email reviewed by India Today stated that the decision to discontinue employment followed a reduction in the business assignment for which the employee had been engaged. The communication specified October 26, 2026, as the employee's final working day and clarified that the decision was based on business and operational requirements rather than individual performance. The company also informed the employee that the full and final settlement had been prepared through a demand draft. According to the communication, the original demand draft would be handed over after the employee returned all company-assigned assets in accordance with established procedures. The termination notice did not disclose the total number of affected employees or provide details about the business assignment that had been scaled down.
Similar job losses were reported among Innodata employees in the Philippines, where individuals identifying themselves as company workers shared accounts of sudden terminations on social media platform Reddit. Some employees claimed that positions had become redundant following a decline in work from a major client, while others reported losing access to company systems shortly after being informed about the layoffs. However, these individual accounts have not independently established the total number of employees affected internationally or confirmed whether the same business reasons applied across locations. The reported Innodata layoffs come amid broader workforce restructuring across the technology industry. Microsoft has separately announced a voluntary exit programme covering approximately 60,000 eligible employees across India, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Unlike the reported Innodata layoffs, Microsoft's programme offers eligible employees the option of leaving voluntarily with financial support. There is no established connection between the two companies' employment decisions. For affected Innodata employees, immediate concerns include obtaining employment documents, understanding the reasons for termination and completing settlement procedures after losing access to official company systems.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.