Major IT employee unions — including KITU, AITE, and UNITE — have accused Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) of mass layoffs in violation of the Industrial Disputes Act. The unions allege that the company retrenched 6,000 employees without seeking mandatory government approval, urging state and central authorities to act against what they called “corporate impunity.”
Mass Layoffs Reflected in Headcount Drop
According to TCS’s Q2 FY26 report, the company’s total workforce fell to 5,93,314 from 6,13,069 in the previous quarter — a decline of 19,755 employees. TCS’s CHRO Sudeep Kunnumal explained that around 6,000 employees were part of “involuntary attrition,” as the firm adjusts its workforce amid changing business dynamics.
Unions Call Layoffs ‘Cruel and Illegal’
Employee groups have rejected TCS’s claim of voluntary exits, calling the layoffs coercive and unethical. They allege that employees were moved to the bench without notice, pressured to resign within hours, and even female staff on maternity leave were threatened with termination if they sought extensions.
NITES Accuses TCS of Downplaying Layoffs
The National Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) also criticized TCS for omitting headcount and attrition data in its BSE Q2 filing, accusing the company of under-reporting layoffs. NITES and other unions are demanding a government investigation into TCS’s compliance with labour laws and protection for affected employees.
Call for Government Intervention
Unions have urged authorities to ensure that IT companies follow due process before mass terminations. They argue that such incidents highlight the lack of labour regulation in the IT/ITES sector, which continues to operate under exemptions not afforded to other industries. The controversy underscores growing concerns over job security in India’s tech sector.
