TCS to lay off over 12,000 employees in major workforce cut

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services provider, will reduce its workforce by 2% in the 2026 financial year, primarily affecting middle and senior management, Reuters reported, citing the company on Sunday.

The company is retraining and redeploying staff as it enters new markets, invests in new technology and deploys AI, but about 12,200 jobs will be cut as part of the process, it said.

The company added, “This transition is being planned with due care to ensure there is no impact on service delivery to our clients. ”

TCS CEO K Krithivasan, in an interview with Moneycontrol on Sunday, acknowledged that shifts in technology and business operations were driving internal changes.

“We have been calling out new technologies, particularly AI and operating model changes. The ways of working are changing. We need to be future-ready and agile. We have been deploying AI at scale and evaluating skills we will be requiring for the future,” he said.

He added that despite significant investments in employee development and career opportunities, “we find that there are roles where redeployment has not been effective. This will impact roughly 2 percent of our global workforce, primarily at middle and senior levels. It has not been an easy decision and one of the toughest decisions I have had to take as CEO.”

When asked whether the move was driven by AI-led productivity improvements or broader macroeconomic and demand-related factors, Krithivasan clarified, “This is not because of AI but to address skills for the future. This is about feasibility in deployment not because we need less people.”

Krithivasan earlier this month stated that there were delays in client decision-making and in the initiation of new projects.

TCS delays onboarding, leaving over 600 recruits in uncertainty

TCS has allegedly deferred the onboarding of more than 600 experienced candidates without any prior communication, leaving many in a state of limbo, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday. While the delay has raised concerns, the company has reiterated its promise to honour all existing job offers.

This development has sparked widespread alarm within India’s IT industry, with many viewing it as one of the most significant employment setbacks in recent years. A number of professionals who had accepted roles at TCS are now unemployed and facing financial pressure after resigning from their previous positions.

However, TCS continues to assert its commitment to the affected hires.

A spokesperson told The Economic Times, "We can confirm that, as always, TCS is committed to honour all offers we have made, whether it is to freshers or experienced professionals. Everyone who has received an offer from TCS will be onboarded. The joining dates are decided as per business demand, and in some cases, they do get adjusted to meet our business needs. We remain in continuous touch with all candidates in these cases and look forward to them joining our company soon."

In response, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has written to Union labour and employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya, urging immediate intervention. The organisation described the situation as involving “exploitative practices” and a “criminal breach of trust” by one of the country's largest IT firms.

Many of the impacted professionals are reportedly grappling with financial difficulties, having left secure jobs expecting to join TCS.

NITES also highlighted that TCS has not officially informed candidates about any onboarding freeze, deepening the confusion and distress.