PUNE, INDIA – An unsettling climate of fear and uncertainty is reportedly gripping Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT firm, as a strategic workforce restructuring translates into sudden terminations and alleged forced resignations, leaving many employees in distress.
Months after initial reports suggested significant job cuts, the impact is now being acutely felt. A former 13-year veteran of the company has come forward with a harrowing account of harassment and eventual termination, painting a stark picture of the human cost behind corporate strategy.
Rohan (name changed), 35, who joined TCS straight from campus, claims he was compelled to resign after a grueling five-month period of “harassment” by the Human Resources (HR) and Resource Management Group (RMG). Speaking to Moneycontrol, he described feeling “betrayed by the Tata Group company he had been loyal to for over a decade.”
After a long-term project with a major automotive client ended, Rohan struggled to find new work within the company. He was subsequently placed on the bench for several months. During this time, he alleges the company’s demeanor shifted drastically.
“They started threatening me saying I was moonlighting for other companies, tried to put me on enquiry,” Rohan recounted. “This went on for months, the mental torture was nothing less than living in hell.”
Despite his refusal to resign, TCS ultimately terminated his employment in mid-2025. Rohan alleges the company demanded a recovery fee of ₹6-8 lakhs for his time on the bench, a portion of which was deducted from his final settlement. Today, he is unemployed, living at a friend’s place in Pune, and has not yet been able to tell his wife and children about his job loss.
Inside the company, a current employee described an “environment of fear” where no one knows “who gets the call next.”
“Seniors are getting laid off, above 8-10 years of experience… Employees are suddenly getting emails to meet the HR, and immediately asked to leave,” the employee stated. “Teams after teams are getting fully laid off.” He attributed some of the cuts to clients reducing project costs, necessitating smaller teams.
A major point of contention is a purported ‘fluidity list,’ which allegedly contains the names of employees targeted for layoffs. According to several sources, individuals on this list are contacted by HR within a month and given an ultimatum: resign voluntarily or face termination.
In a statement issued in July, TCS framed the layoffs as a necessary step in its strategy to become a “future-ready organisation” by investing in AI and restructuring its workforce. The company stated the move would “impact about 2 per cent of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades.”
The alleged manner of these layoffs has drawn criticism from IT employee unions, including the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) and the Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE), which have raised concerns over the process.
