TCS Layoff Protest: IT Employees Union protest against 30,000 – 40,000 Layoffs

In Chennai, the Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) protested on Tuesday against Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) reported move to lay off 12,000 mid and senior-level employees. Protesters alleged that TCS is replacing experienced staff with freshers hired at salaries that are 80–85% lower, which could ultimately affect nearly 30,000 to 40,000 jobs.

UNITE members argued that instead of retrenching employees, the company should focus on reskilling and upskilling its workforce. They pointed out that despite TCS earning a revenue of ₹2.55 lakh crore, maintaining a strong 24.3% operating profit margin, and distributing ₹45,588 crore as dividends, it is still cutting thousands of jobs.

The union also criticized the company’s pay structure, claiming that top executives continue to receive hefty increments while ordinary employees are denied fair wage hikes. They further accused the government of ignoring the issue and continuing to award contracts to TCS despite the large-scale retrenchment.

Speaking to The Hindu Business Line, Chandra Shekar Azad, UNITE’s Joint Secretary, said the only common factor among those affected so far has been “experience”. He argued that even employees with proven skills and leadership credentials were being removed, creating uncertainty within teams.

TCS, in a statement to Business Line, has rejected the union’s allegation as “incorrect and misleading”. TCS said that the impact would be confined to the previously communicated 2 per cent of its global workforce. The company employs over 600,000 people worldwide. Management has framed the move as part of a broader restructuring to build a “future-ready organisation”, with investments in cloud, AI, and digital transformation. It has stated that severance and transition support will be offered to affected employees.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is monitoring the ongoing issues. Labour authorities in Karnataka have also scheduled a conciliation meeting in early September to resolve the issues.