TCS assures Labour Ministry: Lateral hires will be onboarded

TCS assures Labour Ministry: Lateral hires will be onboarded

TCS has committed to "honour" the offer letters it had sent to over 600 lateral hires; the company told the labour ministry in an email. A senior government official told Moneycontrol that the IT giant is in the process of onboarding the new staff and that it has only been "postponed" and not cancelled.

On August 1, the office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) held an in-person meeting to discuss the delay in onboarding of over 600-lateral hires by the IT giant. The meeting was attended by an executive of the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), while TCS only sent an email.

NITES is an organisation focused on advocating for the rights and welfare of IT and ITES employees. The meeting, however, didn’t discuss the mass-layoffs announced by TCS. "That will be discussed later," an official confirmed Moneycontrol.

On Sunday, Moneycontrol reported that TCS would trim its workforce by 2 percent, affecting 12,000 jobs, over FY26.

The IT employees’ union NITES, on July 22, had written to the ministry and asked it to direct TCS to provide an official and time-bound commitment regarding the onboarding of the affected lateral hires.

“Many have relocated or made substantial personal and financial arrangements in anticipation of joining TCS. Unfortunately, upon reporting to the company on their designated joining dates, they were informed of an indefinite delay in onboarding. No official communication, revised schedule, or assurance has been provided since,”wrote Harpreet Singh Saluja, President, NITES, in the letter.

TCS has indefinitely delayed the onboarding of over 600 lateral hires, professionals with experience ranging from 2 to 18 years, NITES said. These professionals are from cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi.

Earlier, a spokesperson of TCS said that the company will onboard all professionals. "Everyone who has received an offer from TCS will be onboarded. The joining dates are decided as per business demand, and in some cases, they do get adjusted to meet our business needs," the person said.