Infosys is exiting Russia and ceasing operations there, according to the company’s CEO Salil Parekh, who made the announcement today during the company’s earnings reports for the three months and year ended March 2022.
“We’ve begun to transfer all of our work from our Russian centers to our centers outside of Russia.” During the investor call, Parekh stated, “We have less than 100 employees in Russia.” “We operate with no Russian clients,” he continued, “and the work we do [there] is with a tiny number of worldwide clients.”
This makes Infosys the first big Indian IT company to leave Russia, amid mounting calls and pressure for India and Indian corporations to stop doing business with Vladimir Putin’s government. ‘There are no plans to conduct business with Russian clients,’ says the company. “We don’t have any plans going forward,” Parekh said of doing business with Russian clients, in what appears to be a pretty bold statement.
During the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the West has increased pressure on India and Indian corporations to cease or limit their connections with Russia, at least until Putin’s administration ends its hostilities against Ukraine.
Infosys has pledged $1 million towards humanitarian assistance
Apart from that, Parekh revealed that Infosys has established a $1 million fund to address the region’s humanitarian needs.
In addition, Parekh stated that Infosys is assisting individuals who have been displaced as a result of the pullout by providing re-skilling opportunities. This involves looking into the possibility of locating relocation alternatives for these people in Eastern Europe, according to Parekh. ‘There will be no effect on our business.’
In terms of the company’s business, Parekh also stated that the Russian pullout had “no influence” on Infosys. Parekh rationalized this by claiming that the work that Infosys does – or used to do – in Russia is limited to a few worldwide clients. It’s probable that the pullout was made easier because no Russian clients were engaged.