Tata Consultancy Services is facing criticism from an IT employees’ union after disclosing plans to cut more than 12,000 jobs this year. The company confirmed in its June filings that it would reduce its workforce by about 2 per cent, equal to 12,261 employees.
Union counters TCS
The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) said in a statement on X that many of the affected workers had been pressured to resign. The body argued that such actions contravene Indian labour law.
“Over the last few weeks, many people have tried to justify TCS’s actions. These arguments may sound logical at first, but legally and morally, they collapse,” NITES said in its post.
Countering arguments
NITES published a detailed rebuttal to what it described as common defences of the company’s actions.
- Business necessity: NITES said profitability does not give companies the right to dismiss staff without due process. It cited the Industrial Disputes Act, which requires notice, compensation and, in some cases, government approval.
- Idle employees:The union said employment contracts impose obligations on both sides, adding that “business risk lies with the company, not the worker.”
- Voluntary resignations:NITES said hundreds of employees reported being threatened with denial of full and final settlements, relieving letters, or blacklisting if they did not resign. The group said any resignation under fear is not legally valid.
- Employee gratitude: The union rejected claims that staff should feel grateful for past employment, stating that service cannot be exchanged for coercion.
- Job market mobility: According to NITES, many of the affected are in their 40s and 50s, making it difficult to secure new roles, particularly when thousands leave simultaneously.
- Shareholder focus: The union said companies must remain accountable to employees as well as shareholders.
NITES concluded: “Profitability does not excuse exploitation, and forced resignations are neither lawful nor ethical. Behind every case is a family under stress, children’s futures at risk, and careers shattered overnight.”
Appeal to state government
NDTV Profit reported that NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting intervention. The letter urged the government to halt all further terminations until legal procedures were followed.
The union asked the state’s labour department to investigate the terminations, ensure lawful compensation under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, and hold TCS management accountable.
In June, TCS confirmed in its filings that it would cut 2 per cent of its global workforce, equivalent to 12,261 employees. The company has not commented publicly on NITES’s allegations of forced resignations.