BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Anand Mahindra’s apology on social media on Friday following the firing of an employee at Tech Mahindra brought to the fore the contentious issue of the way pink slips are handed out in the Indian IT industry as it struggles with a challenging business environment and rising protectionism in the US.“I want to add my personal apology. Our core value is to preserve the dignity of the individual and we’ll ensure this does not happen in future,” the Mahindra Group Chairman said on Twitter.CP Gurnani , managing director at Tech Mahindra, tweeted, “I deeply regret the way the HR rep & employee discussion was done. We have taken the right steps to ensure it doesn’t repeat in the future.”The apologies came a day after a sound clip of the exit interview between a Tech Mahindra executive and the employee went viral on social media. The employee was asked to quit on a day’s notice.The apologies by Mahindra and Gurnani point to the role of social media in issues such as termination of jobs and workplace harassment. Employees of other IT companies in India have also shared recordings of their termination on social media sites.“In the wake of IT layoffs , I believe ‘social media’ is going to become ‘psychological media.’ It is going to be the go-to medium, be it Facebook, Twitter or others, where people can vent out disgruntlement and possibly seek other people to join them,” said brand strategist Harish Bijoor.Here is the audio clip:While Tech Mahindra issued a statement regretting the manner of the exit interview, it said “alignment” of the workforce will carry on. “We continue to implement strategies to implement the changing demands of business in the current global economic environment and align our workforce with the business objectives, strategic priorities of the organisations, and requirements of our clients.This, however, will be done in a manner that benefits our philosophy and our group’s core values,” the company said. IT workers have vented their displeasure over the spate of layoffs in the in dustry on social media in recent weeks. The Indian IT industry employs 3.9 million people in India.Nasscom’s annual review said jobs grew by 5% in FY17 and there may be a 20-25% reduction over the next three years.Human resource experts pointed out that even though layoffs are inevitable, more sensitivity can be shown to employees about to lose their jobs. Many of them are employees with 10-15 years of experience with loan payments and a family to take care of.“Beyond a point, the companies have to look at the business environment. They can’t do much about it. The market is changing rapidly,” said K Sudarshan, regional managing partner - Asia at EMA Partners, a global executive search firm. “However, the companies have to be sensitive to provide a soft landing to the people whom they are letting go.”Industry body NASSCOM said in a statement, “The report is related to a specific company and NASSCOM as a policy does not comment on issues related to any individual organisation. NASSCOM would however, like to point out that the IT- BPM industry has been known for setting standards in HR practices across industries, and will continue to do so going forward. NASSCOM believes that transparency has and will continue to remain a crucial element of HR best practices followed across the IT- BPM industry.”