By Kavita Mistry 
Most affected employees experienced layoffs that lacked both legal compliance and humane communication.
72% of employees were informed of their layoffs within just two days of their last working day.
72% of Employees Receive Layoff Notice Only Two Days Before Last Working Day
Amazon, Target, and Freshworks had especially high rates, exceeding 90% according to a Blind survey.
Only 18% of employees received any advance notice of one to three months, as required by law.
Many multinational companies (MNCs) in India’s tech and service sectors exploit a gap in labor law that excludes IT and managerial staff from the “workmen” category.
This legal gap allows companies to bypass mandatory notice periods and government approval under the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA).
Tens of millions of white-collar professionals in India are therefore outside the scope of labor protections.
Layoffs are often executed in one-sided ways: 37% were informed via Zoom or Teams calls, 23% via impersonal emails, and 13% only realized they were terminated after system access was cut off.
Companies sometimes use “in lieu of notice” payments—short-term severance—to avoid legal penalties instead of giving advance warning.
Affected professionals on Blind reported that such practices erode trust and mental security in India’s tech industry.
An Amazon India employee wrote, “It’s a cruel psychological game: keep people anxious, hoping some will quit voluntarily, saving the company money on severance.”
A Samsung employee noted, “All I can think of is to become proficient at doing something on our own. It could be small, but that ability gives some sense of security.”
Blind Survey Examines Layoffs in India Among 1,396 Professionals
Blind surveyed 1,396 verified Indian professionals between October 29 and November 5, 2025, to examine layoffs in India.
Over 90% of employees at Meta, Uber, PayPal, and Capital One in India, and more than 70% of Microsoft employees, use Blind.
Participants were asked if they or someone they know experienced a sudden layoff with little or no notice: 20% had personally experienced it, 36% heard it from close peers, 30% saw it online or in news, and 14% had not witnessed it.
Layoff notice periods reported were: 72% within 2 days, 10% within 2 weeks, 10% one month before, and 8% three months before.
Layoff communication methods were: 37% via Zoom/Teams call, 13% through sudden system access cut-off, 23% via email or document without personal communication, and 27% told to leave in person.