TCS Layoffs: CHRO Confirms '1% Or 6,000 People' Released, Calls Numbers Circulating 'Very Exaggerated'

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) on Thursday said that it let go of 1% or 6,000 people from its employ workforce due to a "restructuring exercise" it had started, according to chief human resources officer (CHRO) Sudeep Kunnumal. He dismissed claims to the contrary calling them "extremely exaggerated numbers" being circulated and exhorted that they be disregarded.

Kunnumal further stated that TCS is "not chasing a number." When questioned about the actual extent of the layoffs, citing extensive fears over the numbers going in the range between 50,000-80,000, the CHRO claimed that the figures were "not factual" and that they should be dismissed.

Meanwhile in a statement, IT workers' union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate said, TCS has officially reported a closing headcount of 593,314 employees in second quarter fiscal 2026, compared to 613,069 employees in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

"This represents a net reduction of 19,755 employees in just one quarter," it said.

Kunnumal on Thursday said, "As we speak today, we are close to 1% of people, that we have released in mid and senior level, whom we could not redeploy in the right role."

Asked if 1% translated into 6,000 people only, Kunnumal said, "yes, right at the mid and senior level segment."

He said, the company has hired 18,500 people in the just-ended quarter. All the offers that were made have been honoured, he emphasised.

"As an organissation, we will continue to honour all the offers," he said, adding the company is on track so far as onboarding campus offers go.

He also spoke on the possibility of TCS moving forward with its 40,000-plus hiring target for fiscal 2026, as it stated in July or if it would revise the number in light of global market conditions.

"I don't want to give you a number...based on business demand, we will support and we will try to bring the best of the talent for our organisation to shape the journey," Kunnumal said.

"TCS wants to be the world's largest AI-led tech services company," he added.

TCS had said it plans to let go off close to 2%, or 12,261 employees, of its global workforce this year, with the majority of these lay-offs consisting of middle and senior grades.

The move, it had then said, is part of the company's broader strategy to become a "future-ready organisation", focusing on investments in technology, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment.

However, unions have disputed the reported layoff numbers and charged TCS of resorting to pressure tactics, alleging that it threatened to withhold salaries and benefits.

"What we had communicated when we initiated this exercise, is that we will do this with a lot of empathy and respect. And I want to say with conviction and confidence that we did that, we created dedicated teams to have extreme empathetic conversations, to be able to help them with that. We did some benchmark on severance packages for the people (who were affected)," he said.

Kunnumal said as the company steps into the current quarter, it will be paying a higher quarterly bonuses or variable elements compared to what was paid in previous quarters.

"Basically, it covers all the people who have been with our organisation, who are entitled for the quarterly bonus, except maybe for new joinees... but it covers practically every one... normally, at the junior level we have been paying 100%, which is what will continue and for seniors, we will pay a higher amount, which is again based on the individual and unit performance," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)