TCS UK arm's redundancy plan targeted older, non-Indian nationals: Report

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), UK division has been accused of deliberately orchestrating a redundancy programme that targeted older, non-India nationals.

Three people speaking in front of an employment tribunal alleged that TCS discriminated against them on the grounds of age and nationality during a restructuring that began in mid-2023, according to a report by The Guardian.

Similar allegations were made against TCS in the US, where 22 workers claimed they had been removed from the job on short notice and were replaced with workers from India on H1-B visas. TCS has denied both claims,

The main complainant, Steven Beer from London, told the employment tribunal that he was sidelined by the company in an "unfair and discriminatory manner."

In February 2019, Beer was hired as a partner. He went on to claim that TCS “targeted for redundancy an age mature, predominantly non-Indian national group of employees” who worked in the consulting services and integration (CS&I) division.

Through a “deliberately orchestrated” redundancy process, younger, Indian nationals were protected while other employees were singled out for redundancy, Beer said as per the report.

Beer asserted that TCS employed a "bait-and-switch" strategy to draw in prospective customers from all around the world by including "local" employees in its sales proposals before replacing them with Indian employees after the contract was signed.

Beer claimed that this was done because the non-Indian staff was seen as “more costly and less culturally ‘malleable and compliant’.” Retaining such employees on the payroll could lower TCS's profit margins and affect performance metrics that determined bonuses, he said.

To get contracts, TCS often understated its possible costs, this intern made it likely that the more experienced but expensive CS&I staff would be replaced on the contracts as per the report. This move meant that those staff who were not working on projects that could be billed to clients became a determining factor on who was targeted for redundancy.

Beer submitted an email from the human resources director which he claimed said employees who were not working on “billable” projects were at risk. While the other two are yet to provide evidence.

TCS has denied all of Beer's claims.