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Alleging mass illegal retrenchments at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), three major IT employee unions, the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), the Association of IT Employees (AITE) in Kerala, and the Union of IT and ITES Employees (UNITE) in Tamil Nadu, have jointly demanded that the state and Union governments intervene immediately to halt what they described as an “illegal onslaught on Indian IT employees.”
In a joint statement, the unions referred to TCS’s second-quarter financial results (Q2 FY-2026), which showed a net reduction (total departures subtracted by new hires) of 19,755 employees. TCS, which has a hiring target of 40,000 in FY-26, hired 18,500 people in July-September 2025 (Q2), reports said.
The net reduction, taken along with the number of new hires during the same period, showed that over 38,000 employees were let go in a single quarter, the union alleged. They described the large-scale terminations as particularly egregious given that the company recorded a consolidated revenue of Rs 6.57 lakh crore during the same quarter.
The unions disputed TCS’s official explanation that only 6,000 of these departures were “involuntary,” while the remaining 32,000 were voluntary resignations. “We strongly dispute this claim and assert that the company employed cruel and illegal methods to force these employees out,” the statement said.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Chief HR Officer Sudeep Kunnumal on October 9 claimed that only around 1% of the company’s workforce, roughly 6,000 employees, have been affected by layoffs, describing reports of larger numbers as “exaggerated” and “not-factual.”
However, TCS’s own quarterly factsheet paints a different picture. According to the July-September 2025 results, the company’s total headcount fell by 19,755, from 6,13,069 in Q1 FY-26 to 5,93,314 in Q2 FY-26, exceeding the 6,000 figure cited by Kunnumal. The discrepancy was highlighted by IT employee rights organisation Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which said it indicates an underreporting of retrenchments. The factsheet also showed a trailing twelve-month attrition rate of 13.3% in Q2-FY26, down slightly from 13.8% in Q1.
The unions alleged that employees were moved to the bench without notice, made to resign within hours, and denied opportunities even after clearing project interviews. They said employees who refused to resign were intimidated, while those dealing with health issues were shown insensitivity and threatened with termination. Women employees on or returning from maternity leave were allegedly coerced into coming to the office or resigning if they sought to extend their benefits.
The unions also alleged that in some cases, separation meetings were conducted while employees’ phones and digital devices were taken away to prevent them from recording evidence of coercion. They added that TCS’s claim of offering “generous severance packages” only surfaced after protests by IT unions began. “Even now, the promised three-month severance is not being given to most employees, many of whom are being forced to resign without any severance at all,” the statement said.
The unions argued that by openly admitting to the retrenchment of 6,000 employees, TCS had violated the Industrial Disputes Act, which requires prior government approval for mass terminations. “The government must immediately intervene to uphold the law of the land,” the statement said. They accused both state and Union governments of failing to enforce labour laws and allowing corporations like TCS to exploit and mistreat employees with impunity.
“With nearly 40,000 employees already let go and TCS creating fear of an impending new round of layoffs, we are witnessing a sustained and cruel onslaught on the IT employees of India,” the unions said. They urged all IT workers, especially TCS employees, to unite and expose what they described as illegal and unethical practices. The joint statement was signed by Suhas Adiga, general secretary of KITU; AD Jayan, general secretary of AITE; and Alagunambi Welkin, general secretary of UNITE.