In a quiet operation, Infosys has been arranging for chartered flights to take employees stranded in countries such as Australia, NZ and USA, back to India.
Nandan Nilekani, co-founder the Indian multinational corporation has called it an act of “compassionate capitalism”.
The first lot of Australia-based employees and their families, 200 in number, recently returned home safely on a chartered flight from Melbourne to Hyderabad.
Infosys: compassionate capitalism at work! https://t.co/x6VRZxojLi
— Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) July 6, 2020
The repatriates expressed a sense of relief and gratitude towards the initiative taken by their employer.
Jayaraj Reddy (name changed for anonymity), based in Sydney for the last 3 years had tried arranging for Vande Bharat Mission flights.
“We tried all VBM flights but then HR got back to us saying that a flight was being arranged for us,” he told Indian Link.
The repatriation of Infosys employees initially began with chartered flights from the United States. 76 employees whose work visas had expired or were awaiting renewal were the first to be repatriated. They were able to travel with their families from San Francisco to Bengaluru on a Qatar Airways flight.
READ ALSO: ‘It was Australia’s call’: Vande Bharat flights to India suffer setback
Jayaraj Reddy was grateful for his employer’s concern for the welfare of employees, as well as their care in the repatriation process.
“HR was keeping employees up to date with emails and conference calls 4-5 times every day before the flight date,” he revealed. “The company also arranged for taxis to and from the airport.”
In the past, Infosys has been known to aid employees in times of distress. The MNC also provided relief during the 2005 Hurricane Rita that ravaged states in the US by airlifting staff to safety.
Previously, chartered flights were arranged to transport 500 Infosys employees during the Bhubaneshwar floods.
Meanwhile another Indian MNC, Tata Consultancy Services will be carrying out a similar operation this month for its employees.
With more than 4400 employees, Infosys has a significant presence across the AU-NZ region since 1999. The MNC’s Australian headquarters are located in Melbourne with other offices located in cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, and Auckland.
The chartered flight carried 200 Infosys employees and their kin. They are all in quarantine for a week in a hotel arranged by the company, Reddy told Indian Link.
