IT major TCS affirms 600 job offers intact, but skips labour meet

TCS skips meeting with the labour ministry, saying deferment of onboarding is 'nothing new,' and it remains committed to fulfilling its job offers to over 600 professionals

Information-technology (IT) services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has told the Union labour ministry that deferring the onboarding of selected candidates is “nothing new”, while reaffirming its commitment to honouring job offers made to over 600 experienced professionals. The company conveyed this in an email on Thursday night, even as its management skipped a scheduled in-person meeting at the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) on Friday.

 

“In an email sent late last night to the labour ministry, the IT giant clarified its position regarding the matter. It said it would ‘honour’ the commitments made to these professionals. There is some delay in immediately onboarding them, but they remain committed to onboarding them,” said an official familiar with the communication.

 

A meeting was convened following a complaint by the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) regarding delays in onboarding lateral hires. While NITES representatives were present at the CLC office on Friday, the TCS management was absent.

 

No TCS representative appeared physically at the meeting, despite formal notice from the CLC office, NITES President Harpreet Saluja said in a statement on Friday. “The absence of company at such a critical discussion raises concerns about the seriousness with which the organisation is addressing the livelihoods and dignity of hundreds of experienced professionals,” he added.

 

A detailed query sent to TCS regarding the matter did not receive a response until the time of going to press.

 

In its email to the regional labour commissioner, which has been reviewed by Business Standard, TCS cited volatile global conditions for the delay. “The challenges posed by the prevailing circumstances in the global market situation have led organisations (to) re-evaluate resource requirements,” the company wrote. “The deferment of onboarding the offered candidates is nothing new and this practice is followed in the industry.”

 

The company said the onboarding delays were linked to project-based staffing requirements. “The positions to be filled are based on the requirements for customer projects. When there is a delay in the award of projects, there is a certain amount of delay in onboarding the candidates selected for such projects,” the email stated.

 

TCS clarified that no offers had been withdrawn and that the company was attempting to keep the deferment period “as minimum as possible”.

 

Saluja, however, said the company must take further steps. It should provide an official and time-bound onboarding schedule, offer compensation for the delay or propose a support mechanism for those affected, he said.

 

The issue has unfolded against the backdrop of TCS’ recent decision to reduce its workforce by about 2 per cent — roughly 12,260 employees — during the current financial year. The company, which had 613,000 employees globally as on June 30, said the move was part of its efforts to become more agile in the era of artificial intelligence-driven business transformation.

 

This marked the second major layoff in TCS’ history. The previous had been in 2012, when the company had let go of around 2,500 employees for underperformance.

 

“The issue of the layoff of 12,000 people was not discussed today. That is a separate matter,” said an official present at the meeting. “The union representative asked for another meeting, as the TCS management did not physically attend the meeting today to settle the issue of onboarding. The details of further meetings will be intimated shortly, if necessary.”