TCS layoffs: Reports claim 80,000 jobs cut with severance in India

In August, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in a public statement revealed that the company had to let go off 12,000 employees. However, speculations are rife; the number might be much, much bigger than what is told.

A X platform user who goes by the name Soham Sarkar, citing his college friend who has worked at TCS for 15 years, said that around a whopping 80,000 employees were asked to resign.

Some reportedly got 18 months of severance package, others got as low as three months of termination pay, and some didn't get any compensation at all.

DH couldn't independently verify the claim, but several users responding to Sarkar said that the number is most likely true.

"I’ve heard similar story from a friend whose wife works at TCS. Not sure about the 80k number, but he said people are being let go without severance packages," said Jashan on X platform.

Another X user said "Very true. One of my Managers was forced to take VRS after more than 25 years with TCS. My neighbour has been laid off after being in there for 20 years. Ex Manager says they get fluidity lists every week. From various people I have heard that the number is around 40-50k so far."

In a related development, IT major Accenture, has also reportedly laid off around 11,000 employees over the last three months.

In the last couple of years, with the super-fast advancement of generative Artificial Intelligence, the technology corporate companies are increasingly automating several white collar jobs, such as coding. This has led to the company trimming the team sizes, and this is affecting mid-level senior employees.

Several industry experts are of the opinion that software professionals, particularly in India, have to embrace gen AI as a tool to improve productivity. They should not fear it, but improve their skill sets and become a valuable asset to the company.

“India has tremendous technical talent; there's a long tradition of computer science students in India doing amazing things. Anyone with an interest in computer science is turning their attention to machine learning and what it can do. India is well-positioned in this area because many students are already in this field and people are already in this industry. It's an important thing across the world,” Google AI chief Dr Jeff Dean had said during Google @Research event in Bengaluru in 2024.

The gen AI will create more opportunities to work. Most recently, Perplexity AI, co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas, urged youngsters to spend more time learning gen AI and reduce screen time on scrolling reels on Instagram.

"AI will create a sort of impact on society, where people who are upskilled with AI will be useful and employable than other people who are not. That is guaranteed to happen. The thing everybody is missing out on is that anytime there is a new piece of technology, it never progresses this fast (as gen AI)," said Srinivas.

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