India’s largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is set to lay off about 2 per cent, or 12,261 employees, of its global workforce this year, with the majority of those impacted belonging to middle and senior grades.
As of June 30, 2025, TCS’s workforce stood at 6,13,069. It increased its workforce by 5,000 employees in the recently concluded April-June quarter.
The move is part of the company’s broader strategy to become a “future-ready organisation”, focusing on investments in technology, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment, TCS said in a statement.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Tata Group’s IT arm, is reportedly planning to freeze hiring for experienced professionals and pause annual salary hikes across its global operations, according to an Economic Times report citing people familiar with the matter.
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TCS To Freeze Hiring, Pause Annual Salary Hikes
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Tata Group’s IT arm, is reportedly planning to freeze hiring for experienced professionals and pause annual salary hikes across its global operations, reported by Economic Times report citing people familiar with the matter.
The company is also facing onboarding delays for lateral hires and wait times now exceeding 65 days, the report said. In addition, TCS has begun implementing a stricter policy for benched employees and those not currently assigned to active projects.
Under the new policy, such employees have 35 days to secure a billable assignment or face exit from the company. This move is already being enforced across cities including Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata, where several benched employees are being phased out.
Why Is TCS Taking These Steps?
These steps are part of a larger cost-optimization initiative, amid ongoing global trade disruptions and macroeconomic uncertainty. An internal email to staff over the weekend reportedly outlined the company’s cautious stance in light of these challenges.
While the company has not issued an official statement, the TCS CEO has indicated that any potential layoffs will be gradual in nature, the report added.
The move is part of the company’s broader strategy of TCS to become a “future-ready organisation”, focusing on investments in technology, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment, TCS said in a statement after layoffs of 12000 employees.
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