Wipro chairperson Azim Premji on Monday refuted a media report that claimed the company was considering putting its holding up for sale, and called it “malicious and baseless”, PTI reported. In a letter to his employees, Premji said he is still as committed to Wipro as he ever was and continues to be “excited about the potential of the IT industry”.

A report by Network 18’s MoneyControl.com, dated June 5, had quoted a bank official who said the information technology firm was in the initial stages of evaluating the company. “The news article about promoters of Wipro evaluating sale of their holding in the company is baseless and malicious,” Premji said. “There is no truth to these unsubstantiated rumors.”

The development emerged amid rumours of possible layoffs in the IT sector as software giants are trying to tide over slow growth trajectories. Companies are facing a tough time because of automation, a change in technology, stress on digital services, stricter visa rules and a sluggish global economy.

In April, reports said Wipro, India’s third largest software services firm, had dismissed several hundreds of staffers after its annual “performance appraisal”. The company said the development was part of an attempt to meet business objectives and client requirements.

On May 17, IBM India denied reports that it was planning on dismissing around 5,000 employees.