Lockdown forces 1.7 lakh Infosys techies to work from home

"About 70 per cent of our 2.4 lakh global workforce is working from home to avoid being affected by coronavirus," Infosys Chief Operating Officer U.B. Pravin Rao said in a blog to the employees which has been shared with IANS.

In 46 countries, Infosys employs more than 2.4 lakh employees, serving 1,384 customers. The 70 per cent workforce translates to 1.7 lakh employees.

Calling coronavirus pandemic an uncertain and testing time for the company, Rao said both employees and clients are of utmost importance.

"We are doing all we can to be there for those employees and their families that need our support the most, while prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of our entire global workforce," he said.

Though Rao did not declare that all business travel has been suspended, he said the company has restricted travel as appropriate after monitoring the situation across countries.

To facilitate so many geeks to operate from home, the IT major has arranged for laptops, relocated desktops to home environments, customised personal devices for official use, arranged high speed broadband Internet connectivity at residences and improved virtual private network bandwidth.

Admitting that all work cannot be executed from home, especially, business critical functions, Rao said the company has prepared teams to deliver account-specific business continuity plans.

According to Rao, a helpline has been set up to support employees dealing with emergencies and unfamiliar situations.

Similarly, the company had recently vacated its IIPM building in the city after an employee was suspected to have contracted coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Infosys rival Wipro has also implemented work from home for select employees across its global locations.

"Beginning March 16, we enabled work from home (WFH) for employees across the globe wherever feasible and if their roles allowed them to do so," a Wipro spokesperson told IANS.