Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest tech company, recently made headlines with an announcement of a 2% reduction in its workforce, which translates to approximately 12,000 jobs. This revelation, made on July 25, 2025, for fiscal year FY26, sent a ripple through the Indian IT industry. However, conflicting reports quickly emerged from media outlets, citing employee unions and internal sources, suggesting that the actual number of job cuts could be substantially higher, potentially reaching up to 30,000, thereby fueling widespread speculation.

Amidst the growing rumours of massive layoffs, TCS issued a statement to Livemint, vehemently denying the higher figures. The company clarified, stating, “These speculations are incorrect and misleading. As communicated earlier, the impact is limited to 2% of our workforce.” This statement aimed to quell concerns and reinforce the official count.

However, IT unions, employees, and other stakeholders have maintained that the actual layoff figures are significantly greater than the officially stated data. A Moneycontrol report, citing individuals familiar with the situation, indicated that job cuts are likely to exceed 30,000. A mid-level TCS employee, who is also part of a national-level IT union, told the news portal, “Approximately 10,000 impacted employees had directly approached us since June. The layoffs could easily go over 30,000. Since employees are asked to resign themselves and are not being terminated by the company, these numbers won't show up in TCS' records — maybe only in their attrition figures.” Livemint noted that it could not independently verify this specific report.

TCS elucidated that these layoffs are an integral part of its broader strategy to evolve into a “future-ready organisation.” This strategy emphasizes significant investments in technology, the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI), fostering market growth, and undertaking a comprehensive workforce restructuring. The company stated, “Towards this, a number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible. This will impact about 2 per cent of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades, over the course of the year.”