Innodata India may have laid off 90% of staff, Meta connection emerges

A former employee claimed Innodata India laid off nearly 90% of its workforce and offered four months' salary. The reported cuts were linked to reduced client work, but the claims remain independently unverified.

In Short

• Nearly 90% of Innodata India's staff may have lost jobs
• Affected employees reportedly offered four months' salary
• Employees lost system access before formal termination

Nearly 90% of Innodata India’s employees may have lost their jobs, with affected staff reportedly being offered four months’ salary as part of their separation package, an employee recently laid off by the company has claimed.

The employee also told IndiaToday.in that a major chunk of Innodata India's work was linked to Meta, and that the social media company had pulled work from the outsourcing firm. This allegedly left Innodata without sufficient assignments for a large number of its employees, eventually leading to the job cuts.

IndiaToday.in could not independently verify the employee's claims about Meta withdrawing work, the scale of the layoffs or the reported salary payout. The company has been approached for a response.

The employee estimated that Innodata India had a workforce of around 1,000 to 1,200 people, and claimed that around 90% may have been affected by the layoffs. However, neither the company's India headcount nor the proportion of employees laid off has been independently established.

The job cuts come amid accounts from employees who said they were caught off guard by the sudden termination of their employment. Several people claiming to have been affected by the layoffs have described losing access to workplace systems before receiving formal termination communications.

On Reddit, a user identifying themselves as a process analyst said employees were called into a suddenly scheduled HR meeting and told their positions had become redundant because a major client had reduced its volume of work. The user claimed that employees were muted during the meeting, lost access to Microsoft Office applications within an hour and received termination letters on their personal email accounts later that day.

Another Reddit user identifying themselves as an AI analyst claimed that job cuts were taking place across India, the US and the Philippines as part of a project. These accounts have not been independently verified by IndiaToday.in.

In an earlier account shared with IndiaToday.in, one employee who said they had been laid off described how workers turned to WhatsApp after experiencing system shutdowns.

“We turned to WhatsApp to get connected to the employees after experiencing the system shutdowns. Someone created the link and shared it on multiple groups on the Microsoft Teams platform. Within seconds, people started flocking to the groups. They were scared, frustrated, and helpless,” the employee said.

The employee, who said they had expected to be promoted in the coming months, described the WhatsApp group as a way for affected workers to connect after losing access to internal communication channels.

Another employee, aged 28, had earlier told IndiaToday.in that the day began with routine attendance before rumours spread that the Philippines team had been laid off over a Zoom call. The employee claimed that some workers later found their payslips showed October 26 as their resignation or last working day, while access to laptops and employee IDs was withdrawn.

According to the employee, termination emails were subsequently sent to personal email accounts, citing downsizing. These accounts describe how some employees experienced the layoffs, but the sequence of events has not been independently verified in its entirety.

FOUR MONTHS' SALARY OFFERED TO AFFECTED EMPLOYEES?

The employee who shared the latest information with IndiaToday.in claimed that affected workers were being offered four months' salary as part of their separation settlement.

It is not clear whether the reported amount applies to all employees affected by the layoffs or what it includes. IndiaToday.in has not independently verified whether the payment covers notice pay, severance or other outstanding dues.

The employee also claimed that around 90% of Innodata India's workforce may have been affected. Based on the employee's estimate of a workforce of 1,000 to 1,200 people, this would indicate a substantial number of job losses. However, the workforce estimate and the proportion of employees laid off remain unconfirmed.

Separately, the employee said they had overheard a discussion at the office about the possibility of further job cuts in the coming weeks while visiting for settlement-related work. This remains speculation based on the employee's account and has not been independently verified by IndiaToday.in.

IndiaToday.in has reached out to Innodata and Meta for their responses on the reported withdrawal of work, the scale of the job cuts and the settlement terms. The story will be updated when the companies respond.

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