West Asia crisis: No dosas, omelettes in breakfast; Infosys employees told to bring food from home amid commercial LPG shortage

IT giant Infosys has told its employees across campuses in Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai that there will be temporary disruptions in food court services due to the commercial LPG shortage across India triggered by the West Asia conflict that has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

According to an email sent to employees, the canteen menu will be limited, and food will be sourced from external kitchens due to the LPG supply disruption. It also said that live cooking counters that prepare dishes such as dosas and omelettes would be temporarily withdrawn until further notice. 

Catch all the updates on the West Asia crisis here

“Food court vendors are currently receiving reduced LPG supplies from their respective providers. All food courts will temporarily operate with a limited menu. Some of the cooked food will be sourced from the vendor’s central kitchen externally. Alternate cooking through Electrical appliances / Biofuel will be increased,” the mail to Pune employees, accessed by Moneycontrol, read.

Furthermore, employees have been advised to bring food from home, and the teams have been asked to avoid organising events that require catering. 

At the Chennai campus, some food items would either be temporarily unavailable or offered in limited quantities. 

After this, the Forum for IT Employees Maharashtra took to X and said that companies should consider flexible options for employees, such as working from home.

“While the situation may be beyond the company’s control, thousands of employees are still required to attend the office under strict return-to-office policies. In such situations, companies should consider flexible options like work from home to reduce inconvenience for employees,” the IT employees forum wrote. 

The announcement comes amid broader government guidelines impacting LPG usage across several sectors amid an ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. Government officials said on Wednesday evening that India’s crude supply remains secure despite regional tensions that threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. 

“On crude supply, India’s crude supply remains secure. Daily consumption is at about 55 lakh barrels. We have secured more than what would normally have arrived through the Strait of Hormuz during this period,” said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refining) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

They added that India continues to import nearly 60 per cent of its domestic requirements sourced from overseas, and around 90 per cent of these supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz.