Karnataka labour minister mulls intervention after TCS decides to layoff 12,000 staff


TCS has introduced plans to scale back its international workforce by two % throughout the 2025–26 monetary yr, impacting roughly 12,000 jobs.

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has described the large-scale layoffs at Tata Consultancy Providers (TCS) as “alarming,” after the IT big introduced plans to chop over 12,000 jobs globally within the 2025-26 monetary yr.

TCS, India’s largest IT agency, said it will cut back about two per cent of its international workforce as a part of a strategic restructuring. The corporate mentioned the transfer is aimed toward enhancing agility and getting ready for future calls for, not pushed by AI-led effectivity features.

“That is fairly uncommon. Instantly shedding 12,000 folks, and that too at TCS, is an enormous quantity. It is alarming. Our groups are in contact with them, and I can even look into the explanations behind it. We are going to look at the authorized facets, particularly by way of labour legislation. Traditionally, dawn sectors have been granted some leniency,” Minister Lad mentioned on Wednesday.

One of many largest layoffs by TCS

That is among the many largest rounds of job cuts in TCS’s historical past. Most of these affected are mid to senior-level professionals, although some junior staff, notably those that have remained on the bench for prolonged durations, are additionally being impacted.

TCS CEO Okay Krithivasan, in feedback reported by Moneycontrol, clarified that the choice is a part of a long-term plan to reshape the corporate’s workforce. “It’s not that we’d like fewer folks. We are going to proceed buying, coaching, and investing in high-quality expertise. That is extra about how and the place expertise might be successfully deployed,” he mentioned.

TCS has already skilled over 550,000 staff in fundamental AI and round 100,000 in superior AI. Nevertheless, adapting to new applied sciences has confirmed troublesome for a lot of, particularly these in senior positions who’re extra accustomed to conventional challenge buildings.

The Tata Group firm has introduced it’s going to lay off greater than 12,000 staff this yr, amounting to round 2 per cent of its international workforce. The impression can be felt most sharply amongst mid and senior-level professionals.

It mentioned the choice is a part of a broader technique aimed toward remodeling TCS right into a “future-ready organisation.” This features a sturdy concentrate on rising applied sciences, AI deployment, international market enlargement, and aligning its workforce with evolving enterprise wants.

Tarun Pathak, Analysis Director at Counterpoint Analysis, famous that the transfer displays a mixture of macroeconomic headwinds, altering shopper calls for, and an industry-wide shift towards agile, outcome-based supply fashions. He added that the introduction of a extra stringent bench coverage signifies the corporate’s elevated emphasis on workforce effectivity.

Whereas TCS has said that the layoffs should not straight linked to AI-driven effectivity features, the choice comes at a time when automation and AI are enjoying a rising function in reshaping workforce methods throughout the tech sector.

With inputs from PTI