Kochi: Hundreds of employees of Texas-based medical coding and healthcare solutions company CorroHealth staged protests outside its Kochi office on Friday after the company abruptly terminated nearly 800 employees from its Kerala operations without prior notice.

According to employees, around 600 workers at the company’s Palarivattom office in Kochi and another 200 at its Kozhikode office were informed on Friday morning that they were being relieved of their duties with immediate effect.

The sudden mass layoff triggered protests at the Kochi office, prompting the intervention of Thrikkakara MLA Uma Thomas and officials from the labour department. Following discussions with the state labour minister, the layoffs were temporarily put on hold, and the status quo was maintained until a formal meeting convened by the labour department on Monday.

Employees alleged that they were caught completely off guard when they reported for work on Friday morning.

“Nothing was told to us. This morning, they just set up a speaker and microphone in the office as if some function was going to happen. They brought everyone together and announced, ‘This is your last day, ' and everyone was relieved. You will be given a three-month salary as compensation. Is this how a corporate office works? At least they should have informed us one month prior as a notice period,” a female employee protesting at the office said.

Employees also questioned the manner in which the termination orders – titled ‘Separation and Full and Final Settlement Letter’ – were issued, claiming they were handed over on sheets of paper without the company’s official seal.

Vishnu, a manager at CorroHealth who was among those terminated, alleged that the layoffs were not driven by financial losses but by the company’s dissatisfaction with Kerala’s labour regulations. According to him, while the company claimed it was not making profits, it was simultaneously recruiting employees in other states.

“The reason they are giving is that they have no profit, but why is Kerala alone being ignored? They are already hiring thousands of people in the UP and Hyderabad offices. The truth is, they are unable to exploit people here. We have already filed four or five labour cases from this branch,” Vishnu alleged. He claimed the company had objected to labour laws requiring employees working beyond eight hours to be paid overtime at double the normal rate.

Vishnu also referred to an incident on May 31, when, according to him, employees were directed to work on a Sunday. After a complaint was filed before the Labour Department, the authorities reportedly stopped the company from enforcing the shift.

“They hold a grudge in their mind against the Kerala offices because of that. They want to exploit workers. On paper, we are supposed to work Monday through Friday, with only the last Saturday of the month as an exception. But in reality, they routinely force us to work extra Saturdays. A stance of squeezing the workforce to the maximum is being adopted,” he said.

As protests intensified, Thrikkakara MLA Uma Thomas visited the Kochi office along with the District Labour Officer and held discussions with company representatives and employees.

After speaking with the State Labour Minister, Thomas said the company had agreed to maintain the status quo until a meeting convened by the labour department.

“All these employees have come from different places to stay here, and their lives depend entirely on this job. It is a matter of great concern. They allege that a separate entity has been set up in UP and many people have been hired there. This looks like a calculated move to shift the workload out of Kerala. This is a highly reputable office providing employment to hundreds of young individuals; it cannot be allowed to just shut down arbitrarily,” she said.

Thomas urged employees to remain calm until the labour department completes its intervention.

The labour department directed the company to maintain the status quo until a high-level meeting scheduled on the 6th of this month. The meeting, to be chaired by the labour department secretary, is expected to be attended by the company’s senior management.

Employees said their primary demand is that the layoffs be withdrawn and all affected staff be reinstated. They said they were even willing to discuss salary restructuring if it would protect their jobs. If the retrenchment is ultimately carried out, they are seeking compensation equivalent to 10 months’ salary, as it would not be easy for them to secure alternative employment.