In a growing controversy, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has come under scrutiny after the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) accused the IT giant of skipping a scheduled meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner in New Delhi. The meeting was organized following concerns over TCS’s decision to cut 2% of its global workforce, which translates to approximately 12,000 jobs.
NITES filed a formal complaint earlier this week, urging the Ministry of Labour to crack down on IT companies using vague terms like “AI transition” or “workforce realignment” to justify sudden layoffs. The union claims TCS only responded via email and did not send a representative to the Friday meeting, sparking allegations of corporate indifference.
Alleged Violations of Labour Law
According to NITES, TCS’s actions may violate existing Indian labour laws that require prior government intimation before mass terminations. The union stated, “This is not restructuring. This is mass sacking dressed in corporate jargon.” The move, they say, threatens employee security, particularly for mid- and senior-level professionals, and sets a dangerous precedent for the broader IT industry.
Shifting Trends: From Headcount to Skills
Industry analysts suggest this is part of a larger trend. As per TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma, IT firms are moving away from scale-based hiring to adopt a skill-first approach, investing more in emerging tech like GenAI, cloud, cybersecurity, and data engineering.
Since FY2022, India’s IT services sector has added 3.5 lakh jobs, yet the top four firms — TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCLTech — have together reduced their headcount by over 42,000. While Infosys plans to hire 20,000 freshers in 2025, TCS’s deferment of onboarding and cost-cutting moves — including a 7% drop in travel and facility spend — paint a different picture.
As NITES presses for accountability, the question remains whether the government will enforce stricter labour oversight, or if mass layoffs under digital transformation will become the new normal in Indian IT.
