Labour Standing Committee member urges labour, IT ministers to act on TCS layoffs

TCS

Raja Ram Singh, a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and of the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development, has urgently called for government intervention to halt what he described as "illegal lay-offs" in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the broader Indian IT/ITES sector.

In a letter dated October 1, 2025, addressed to Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Singh raised alarming concerns about mass retrenchments.

Moneycontrol exclusively reported in July 2025 that TCS will terminate over 12,000 employees.

Singh suggested the actual figure appears much higher, characterising this as part of a wider trend where profit is prioritised at the cost of workers' livelihoods.

Challenging the 'Skill Mismatch' Narrative

The MP directly challenged TCS's justification that the retrenchments are due to "skill mismatch".

He cited the company's own Annual Report for FY 2024-25, which shows that 91 percent of employees received skill-upgradation training.

Also, read: Not cutting jobs because of AI, says TCS CEO Krithivasan on 2% workforce layoff plans

Singh argued that these cuts are, therefore, part of a global employment policy shift from growth at any cost to profit at any cost.

Allegations of Labour Law Violations

Singh's letter highlighted rampant labour law non-compliance in the IT sector. He highlighted that the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, mandates prior government permission for retrenchment in larger establishments, a requirement he claims "No IT company has complied" with.

He also pointed to the gross misuse of Karnataka’s exemption of IT/ITES firms from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, leading to the ignoring of mandatory grievance redressal and reporting requirements.

The letter stated that over 1.5 lakh workers were retrenched in 2024 alone, all entirely in violation of law.

The MP also brought attention to reported cases of harassment & victimisation, including workers being forced into coerced resignations under the threat of termination without compensation or relieving letters, a practice that allows companies to bypass the law.

Union Backing and Demands

The IT & ITES Democratic Employees Association (IIDEA) issued a statement endorsing Singh's concerns and condemning the mass layoffs as a blatant and illegal act that shreds the social contract of India's IT sector.

IIDEA supported the MP’s view that this is a calculated global strategy to replace secure, permanent jobs with a precarious, contract-based workforce, flouting Indian labour laws.

Also, read: TCS layoffs leave employees facing uncertainty and anxiety