Wipro fired 300 employees for illegally working with competitors

Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji recently said that the company had found its 300 employees working with one of its competitors at the same time, and their employment had been terminated for an act of integrity violation.

The definition of moonlighting is about having another job secretively. He explained that as part of transparency, individuals can have candid and open conversations around playing in a band or working on a project over the weekend.

Speaking at All India Management Association’s National Management Convention, Premji said, “The reality is that there are people today working for Wipro and working directly for one of our competitors and we have actually discovered 300 people in the last few months who are doing exactly that.”

Premji firmly said that there is no space for someone to work for Wipro and competitor XYZ and they would feel exactly the same way if they were to discover the same situation. “That is what I meant...so I do stand by what I said...I do think it is violation of integrity if you are moonlighting in that shape and form,” he said.

The issue of moonlighting by tech professionals has become a hot topic trending in recent days, with companies having polarising opinions within the industry. Many have taken a strong stance on moonlighting. Earlier this month, Infosys had shot off a missive to its employees, asserting that dual employment is not permitted, and warned that any violation of contract clauses will trigger disciplinary action “which could even lead to termination of employment”.