UNITE members protesting against TCS’ layoffs
| Photo Credit:
BIJOY GHOSH
The Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) on Tuesday alleged that the number of layoffs in the case of Tata Consultancy Services could go up to 30,000 employees.
TCS had recently announced plans to lay off 2 per cent (~12,000) of its workforce from mid and senior-level positions by next fiscal.
UNITE on Tuesday organised a multi-city protest to declare its opposition and demand immediate withdrawal of the planned layoffs, seeking government intervention and action against TCS. The protest was organised in collaboration with CPI(M)-affiliated Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU).
TCS in a statement to businessline, denied UNITE’s claims. “These speculations are incorrect and misleading. As communicated earlier, the impact is limited to 2% of our workforce,” the company said.
Speaking to businessline, Chandra Shekar Azad, Joint Secretary, UNITE, claimed that there is a lot of uncertainty within TCS at this point. “The only common factor between those who have been laid off is experience. It has not been because of the lack of upskilling, the mandatory return-to-office policy or any other reason. Experienced employees, even if they are capable and skilled, are being removed.” He added that since many of these vulnerable employees hold leadership positions, the uncertainty has trickled down to the teams as well.
Alangunambi Welkin, General Secretary, UNITE told businessline that the organisation plans to further collaborate with international trade organisations to scale its protests if no action is taken by the government. UNITE currently has about 300 members, out of which around 50-60 are part of TCS, he claimed.
The protest by the labour groups come at a time when the IT industry body Nasscom observed that over the next several months organisations may pivot towards more product-aligned delivery models, leading to some workforce rationalisation as traditional skillsets are re-evaluated.
Meanwhile some union members present at the protest cited sources within TCS to allege that employees face poor infrastructure at the company’s Siruseri campus. While the firm insists on upskilling, the courses are not accessible on personal devices, forcing employees to search for other laptops, they said. .
Published on August 19, 2025
