Startup Central | "The industry should not exploit people. It is shameful," says Mohandas Pai, Aarin Capital, on wage gap in IT sector amid TCS layoffs
Full segment – https://t.co/seI7nyZB69@SumitaKareer @TVMohandasPai #TCSLayoffs pic.twitter.com/bsmqPuruFZ
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) July 28, 2025
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s largest tech companies, announced plans to reduce its workforce by 2%, a move that will impact more than 12,000 employees. The decision comes amid a challenging economic environment and growing financial pressures on the global IT industry. TCS officials discussed the company’s quarterly results during a press conference in Mumbai.
#WATCH | TCS to cut 2% of workforce, 12,000 employees Impacted
What are other IT bigwigs' views on hiring? Is the scene different for global majors? @DigariRabi32620 breaks down the numbers and highlights #TCS #TCSLayoffs #IT #StockMarket pic.twitter.com/ON3QrNsJbB
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) July 28, 2025
The workforce reduction is part of TCS’s broader strategy to streamline operations and improve efficiency as the company navigates a complex business landscape. India’s showpiece software industry is facing a moment of reckoning. TCS, the country’s biggest private sector employer and largest IT services company, says the decision was taken to make the company “future ready” as it invests in new areas and deploys artificial intelligence at scale amid seismic disruptions in its traditional business model.
Companies like TCS have relied on cheap skilled labor to produce software for global clients at lower costs.
I write on why the IT industry is in a bind & why it's not just TCS but the entire IT & related sectors that have to rejig their workforces. Which means more jobs possibly being lost. Check out @NDTVProfitIndia https://t.co/4QgiZXNUSS
— Sandhya Ravishankar (@sandhyaravishan) July 28, 2025
TCS reduces workforce amid disruption
However, this model has been upended by AI automating tasks and clients demanding more innovative solutions, rather than just cost savings on manpower.
TCS’s announcement highlights the sharp “skills mismatch” in the country’s software industry.
So, proposed employee reduction at India's No. 1 IT company TCS likely to be almost double the year-on-year net headcount addition it reported during April-June 2025!#India #TCS #employees #headcount #jobs #reduction #cuts https://t.co/XGusbTmoTh
— Sumali Moitra (@sumalimoitra) July 27, 2025
As generative AI leads to a rapid enhancement of productivity, businesses are reassessing their workforce structure and analyzing if resources should be redirected toward roles that complement AI capabilities. India needs a million AI professionals by 2026, but not even 20% of the country’s IT professionals are AI-skilled.
While up-skilling spends by tech companies have significantly spiked as they rush to prepare a new pool of AI talent for the future, those without the requisite skills are being shown the door. The announcement has been met with alarm by various political figures, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh describing the job cuts as an “economic earthquake.” He underscored the potential repercussions of this decision on both the organization and the broader Indian economy. The true impact of these layoffs remains to be fully understood, but it is clear that the ripple effects could be far-reaching, affecting numerous stakeholders.
How quickly Indian tech giants adapt to the disruptions brought by the AI revolution will decide whether the country can retain its edge as a global technology player and expand its consuming middle-class to keep its GDP growth on track.
