Kochi: A crucial minister-level conciliation meeting convened by the Kerala government to resolve the CorroHealth layoff crisis ended without a breakthrough on Friday, with the company refusing to withdraw its decision to suspend operations at its Kerala centres citing global economic slowdown. The deadlock has left the future of more than 800 employees in Kochi and Kozhikode hanging in the balance.

However, the state government said it remains determined to prevent the closure and has convened another round of discussions on July 20, when senior officials from the company’s top management are expected to fly down from the US and present a concrete proposal.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Labour Minister Bindhu Krishna said the government had offered every possible support to persuade the US-based medical coding company to continue its operations in Kerala.

"The proposal we put forward is that the Government of Kerala is willing to offer any kind of assistance and provide any material infrastructure needed to retain this institution here. We conveyed that if the company has faced any challenges within our state, we are ready to address and resolve them," the minister said.

She said the government’s priority is to safeguard jobs and ensure that the company continues operating in the state rather than allowing a complete shutdown. The minister also questioned the legality of the company's decision to terminate the entire workforce at its Kochi and Kozhikode centres without following statutory procedures.

"Terminating all the employees across both our centres is effectively a closure. If it is a closure, even if it is in accordance with the Industrial Relations Code, they are required to give notice to the government. Such procedures were not followed," she said.

Government questions need for Kerala shutdown
According to the company, the decision to retrench employees stems from the international economic slowdown, policy changes in the United States and a sharp decline in business contracts.

However, the minister, Hibi Eden MP, Uma Thomas MLA and representatives of the employees challenged the rationale behind shutting down only the Kerala operations while continuing business elsewhere.

Eden alleged that the company’s stand was contradictory, pointing out that CorroHealth has repeatedly praised the quality of Kerala's workforce. "What we can understand from this is a double standard from the CorroHealth management. They continuously appreciate the labour force and human resources in Kerala. They have no complaints regarding their work. It is our youths who go to Noida and Hyderabad as faculties and trainers to train other people. So, not only do they have no complaints, but we also pointed out that they made a profit of ₹1,000 crores in their profit and loss balance sheet,” Eden said.

Minister Bindhu Krishna echoed the criticism, noting that the company’s remarkable growth in Kerala was driven by local talent. “The CEO of this company was recognised as one of the best CEOs of 2026 because of the capabilities and extraordinary performance of our people, including our youth,” she said, adding that the company’s Kerala operations had grown from a workforce of around 100 employees into a major centre.

During the meeting, the government also proposed several alternatives to avoid mass job losses, including redistributing work handled by other centres and exploring employee transfers or redeployment. Hibi Eden said Kerala currently handles only one business vertical, while another is managed from Hyderabad.

He said the government suggested that new work allocated to Hyderabad could instead be assigned to the Kerala centres. The Labour Commissioner also proposed transferring employees to other operational branches or, if unavoidable, retaining the core workforce while considering the most recently recruited employees for separation.

However, the discussions reached an impasse over the company’s insistence that employees should remain away from the workplace until the next round of talks.

"We proposed that the employees should be allowed to enter until the discussion on July 20. For that, their response was to let them stay at home; we strongly objected to this during the meeting. That was the only point on which we couldn't reach an agreement," the minister said.

When asked whether the government was discussing enhanced compensation packages for the retrenched employees, Bindhu Krishna clarified that the state’s focus remains on preserving employment rather than negotiating severance benefits.

"We are not considering the compensation package at this point because we will think about it only if it results in a complete closure and a situation arises where there is no possibility to reopen or retain the company here," she said.

The minister also warned that the state would not allow the company to bypass labour laws or undermine the dignity of Kerala's workforce.

"We stated that we cannot, under any circumstances, accept the company acting in a manner that insults our labour force and the dignity of labour in Kerala. We also explicitly stated that otherwise, we will be forced to initiate legal actions," she warned.