Hyderabad: Employees recently removed from Cognizant on Thursday approached the labour commissioner seeking justice.

Based on a complaint, Labour Commissioner Mr Ahmed Nadeem summoned the heads of Cognizant. Ten representatives and eight complainants appeared before the commissioner.

The representatives from Cognizant, whose identities have not been disclosed, explained to the labour commissioner that they were issued notices followed by removals.

“These removals are not ‘layoffs’. It is a routine process. Those who don’t meet our requirements, we remove them by issuing notices for a certain period and then we recruit those with better skills,” he said.

Chief Relations’ Officer of Telangana State Information Technology department Mr. Atmakuri Amarnath Reddy took part in the trial on behalf of the state government.

The eight employees who filed the complaint told the media that the future of about 9,000 employees was at stake and that they would fight against the management till they get justice. A few trade unions and IT associations are supporting the employees.

The labour commissioner adjourned the matter to May 26.