TCS layoffs: Over 12,000 jobs cut amid workforce realignment

India woke up to a shock at the weekend. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), crown jewel of India’s IT industry, announced that it will dismiss 2% of its global workforce. That’s over 12,000 individuals, mostly at middle and senior management cadres. That isn’t news as just another piece of paper, it’s a seismic shift to India’s corporate narrative.

The AI Myth: IT Is Not The Villain Here

At a time when artificial intelligence is being held responsible for job destructions, TCS is defying the trend. CEO K Krithivasan made a very clear statement, AI is not responsible for such layoffs. Though having used AI at a very large scale and reaping productivity benefits of as high as 20%, such job reductions were not due to such a cause but something altogether different, mismatch of skills.

According to Krithivasan, TCS has made significant investments to upskill its people and give them career development as well as redeployment options. Nevertheless, despite such programs, there were some roles that could not be redeployed efficiently. That is where reductions have taken place. The question is not robots versus humans, but rather humans not being skilled enough to do work tomorrow.

The Real Story: Future-Proofing the Workforce

TCS is not selling at fire-sale prices. Instead, as the company claims, it’s “future-readying” itself, a process that speaks to long-term strategy. The work force reductions, as painful as they are, are part of a companywide realignment process. Businesses are no longer able to carry non-performing skill sets that do not align with their own shifting requirements in this hyper-competitive, AI-facilitated tech era.

Most at risk are mid and higher-level managers. They are roles where strategy implementation, innovation, and decision making are most critical. If those leaders are not aligned with where the company is headed, realignment is inevitable.

First for India, And It’s Huge

This is new terrain for India. We have seen Silicon Valley giants, Google, Meta, Microsoft, shedding thousands of jobs per year. In India, however, such huge mass layoffs, let alone from an experienced player like TCS, are not usual events. The move can set a new precedent for Indian IT firms to approach workforce optimization.

More concern-provoking is the signal this gives to the rest of the sector. If job-security-first, stability-first TCS is perpetrating such wholesale reductions, others will no doubt do the same before long. The question isn’t whether there will be still more reductions, it’s who’s next.

What's Next for Indian IT?

So, is this a one-time shift or beginning of a mega churn in India’s IT industry? We shall just have to wait and watch. What is certain is that one’s skills, and not one’s years of experience, will define job security henceforward. TCS has hoisted the red flag, not out of desperation, but out of compulsion. The IT industry workforce will have to change, and if not, perish. For those who work within the sector, the word is simple, adapt or perish.