"Govt to probe spate of resignations at Amazon", 28 November 2020

The labour ministry will set up an inquiry to find out whether the recent spate of resignations at Amazon India constituted layoffs that violate labour laws or terms of service, according to people aware of the development.

The ministry had sent a notice to Amazon India last week after receiving a complaint of mass layoffs in violation of laws made to labour minister Bhupender Yadav by the Nascent Information Technology Employees’ Senate (NITES), a collective of IT professionals that has over 18,000 members.

In its reply, Amazon India management had said no employee had been fired and some staff had resigned after accepting the e-commerce firm’s “voluntary separation programme”.

The company in its internal communication to employees had stated that those who do not opt for the voluntary separation programme will be retrenched without any benefits under a “workforce optimisation programme”, according to Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, which has alleged violation of labour laws.

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HT has reached out to Amazon India for comments, but has not received a response.

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On whether the government could intervene in the working of a private entity, the official said the ministry has the mandate to ensure that labour laws were not violated. “We will ensure that the aggrieved workers are heard, and their rights are protected. Otherwise, we will act as per the law,” the official said.