Anxiety, Forced Resignations, Chaos: The Human Cost of TCS’s Layoffs

Two months after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO K Krithivasan announced that India’s largest IT services company would cut about 2 percent of its workforce—over 12,000 jobs—the impact is being widely felt across employees and unions. A wave of sudden resignations, alleged forced exits, and rising uncertainty has created deep anxiety within the organization.

Multiple sources told Moneycontrol that the scale of layoffs could be far higher than what was officially disclosed.

Official vs. Actual Numbers

In July, Krithivasan had confirmed that the company would reduce its headcount by 2 percent. This translates to around 12,000 employees.

However, several employee unions and individuals believe the real figure could be more than 30,000 job cuts.

One mid-level employee associated with a national-level IT union said that around 10,000 impacted employees had approached them directly since June. He added that because many employees are asked to resign instead of being formally terminated, the true numbers may not appear in official records but only in attrition statistics.

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Protests by IT Unions

Over the last two months, multiple IT employee unions have raised their voices against these layoffs. Among them are:

• All India IT & ITeS Employees’ Union (AIITEU)

• Forum for IT Employees (FITE)

• Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE)

• Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU)

These groups have organized campaigns and protests, criticizing the manner in which TCS has handled the ongoing workforce reduction.

TCS declined to comment on queries sent by Moneycontrol, citing a silent period before its second-quarter earnings.

Stories of Forced Resignations

The Case of Rohan

Rohan (name changed), a 35-year-old employee, had spent 13 years at TCS after joining as a campus recruit. He said he was forced to resign after five months of pressure from Human Resources (HR) and the Resource Management Group (RMG).

When he refused, he was eventually terminated in mid-2025.

According to him, TCS even asked him to pay Rs 6–8 lakh as a recovery amount for the period he was on the bench. Only half was adjusted against his gratuity and leave balance; the remaining was settled by the company.

Rohan’s difficulties began after a five-year project with an automotive client ended. He found only a short one-year project and struggled to secure another due to limited opportunities. He said that HR and RMG regularly contacted him during his bench period, revoked his system access once, and accused him of moonlighting.

“The mental torture was nothing less than living in hell,” he told Moneycontrol.

Today, he is still unemployed, living at a friend’s place in Pune, while his family back home is unaware of the situation.

Atmosphere of Fear in Offices

Another current employee described the environment at TCS as one of “fear, confusion, and chaos.”

He said:

• Senior employees with 8–10 years of experience are being laid off.

• Some employees receive just a week’s notice, while others are asked to leave immediately.

• Entire teams have been laid off suddenly.

• Even employees working on new technologies are not spared.

According to him, client-side cost-cutting has reduced project requirements, which in turn has led to layoffs. While junior employees continue to be assigned projects, hiring is happening at a slower pace.

Some insiders also said that fresh hiring this quarter could offset the visible impact of layoffs in the company’s official headcount numbers for the quarter ending September 30, 2025.

The Fluidity List

A controversial element in the process has been what employees call the “fluidity list.”

This list, according to several sources, contains the names of employees marked for exit. Employees claim:

• The list is not based on skills, grades, or performance ratings.

• Decisions depend largely on account managers or delivery managers.

• Even employees with good ratings and in-demand skills are sometimes included.

Once an employee is on this list:

• They are blocked from joining new projects, even after clearing internal interviews.

• HR allegedly contacts them within 30 days with two options: resign voluntarily or face termination.

• Project managers are allegedly instructed to drop their profiles.

Employees also claimed that clients are sometimes told misleading reasons such as “employee is unwell” or “childcare issues,” when the real reason is downsizing.

One employee, Vijay (name changed), said, “This is pure mental harassment and a mockery of policies, not a performance-based exit.”

A source close to TCS, however, maintained that “fluidity list” is not an official term but has caught on informally because of the company’s size.

Voices from Employee Unions

IT unions have strongly condemned the way layoffs are being carried out.

• FITE Secretary Prashant Pandit alleged that employees with over 30 years at TCS have been asked to quit within 30 minutes.

• UNITE General Secretary Alagunambi Welkin said that employees are sometimes benched even while officially allocated to projects.

According to Welkin, the process typically involves:

1. HR is asking employees to find new projects.

2. Even if they secure projects and pass client interviews, their deployment is cancelled.

3. Finally, they are called and asked to resign.

He explained that:

• If employees are terminated, they receive no pay.

• If they resign, they get a three-month notice period plus a severance package of 15 days’ salary for every year of experience.

• Additional benefits may include career guidance, outplacement services, and up to six months of insurance coverage, for which employees must pay the premium.

TCS’s Official Stance

In July, Krithivasan had said the layoffs were due to limited opportunities for redeployment in some roles. He clarified that:

• The cuts were not linked to AI productivity gains.

• Instead, they were driven by skill mismatches and ineffective redeployment.

He also emphasized that the company continues to invest in associate career growth and deployment opportunities, but some roles could not be sustained.

New HR Policy

In June, TCS rolled out a new billability policy. Under this policy:

• Employees must proactively approach RMG to secure projects.

• They need to maintain 225 billable days over 12 months.

• They cannot remain on the bench for more than 35 days a year.

• Failure to meet these conditions could lead to disciplinary action, including termination.

Conclusion

The layoffs at TCS—whether officially 12,000 or potentially higher, as alleged by employees and unions—have caused widespread anxiety and unrest. Allegations of forced resignations, arbitrary selection processes, and the controversial fluidity list have intensified the sense of betrayal among many long-serving employees.

Unions continue to protest, employees continue to speak out anonymously, and questions remain unanswered. More clarity is expected when TCS announces its quarterly results and holds a press interaction on October 9, 2025.

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