Behind the Layoffs at TCS That Could Affect 12,000 Jobs

TCS Will Let Go More People in Coming Months as It Expects to Complete the Exercise by the End of This Year

- Jas Bardia & Varun Sood

On Sunday, 27 July, a techie's quiet afternoon nap was abruptly snapped by the sharp ping of a mobile notification. It was an email from his employer of four years, Tata Consultancy Services. The information technology (IT) services giant informed him (and others) that 2% of its workforce would be 'affected' as "part of strategic initiatives including investments in new tech areas". In other words, they would be asked to leave.

Within a few hours, the techie, who declined to be identified when he spoke with Mint, received another email, this time from his HR manager, requesting that he attend a meeting on Monday. The meeting has since been postponed to an unspecified date, so his fate is yet unknown. But hundreds of other TCS employees have already been asked to leave, according to five executives privy to the development.