Trade union CITU calls for nationwide protests on August 19 over mass layoffs by TCS

The trade union also asked for tripartite meetings between IT companies, trade unions, and appropriate government authorities to address the challenges facing the outsourcing-dependent IT sector due to the tariff war and other external factors.

New Delhi: CPI(M)-affiliated Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has called for protests in front of offices of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) across the country on August 19 against its decision to retrench around 12,000 employees.

It also asked for tripartite meetings between IT companies, trade unions, and appropriate government authorities to address the challenges facing the outsourcing-dependent IT sector due to the tariff war and other external factors.

The trade union accused the union government of being reluctant to even comment on the TCS issue and continues to favour the company with public sector projects. It asked the government to intervene and initiate dialogue with TCS management to protect the livelihoods of lakhs of IT workers.

In a statement, the CITU said it "unequivocally condemns the brazen and disastrous mass retrenchment plan" by India’s largest IT company at a time it reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 2.55 lakh crore for 2024–25, which is a 6.0% year-on-year growth, and the industry’s highest operating profit margin of 24.3%.

During the same period, the CITU said, the TCS Board approved a "massive" total dividend payout of Rs 45,588 crore, which is a 20% increase over the previous year. Revenue per employee stood at Rs 42.45 lakh in FY25, reflecting a 15.8% increase over the previous year, it claimed.

The CITU also claimed that the TCS is pressuring employees for "voluntary exits" that would deprive them of legal protections, compensation, and job security.