TCS layoffs: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently announced 12,000 layoffs, but employees fear the actual number could be higher. According to an ET Prime report, TCS workers are worried that the company’s newly introduced bench policy could push job cuts beyond the 2% reduction in workforce initially announced.
The policy change has left employees, especially those unassigned to projects, anxious about their future. “If you are on the bench, at least you know you are in danger. If you are on a project, you don’t know what is going to happen. Everyone is scared. And the bench policy makes things worse for older employees,” a senior TCS executive who has worked at the company for over 15 years was quoted as saying.
How the New Bench Policy Works
The revised bench policy requires employees to spend a minimum of 225 days in projects annually and limits bench time to 35 days. Non-compliance could trigger disciplinary actions, including Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) and eventual termination.
The concept of bench in IT companies — referring to staff without active project assignments — has long been seen as a buffer. During growth periods, it serves as a pool of resources for immediate project deployment. However, in slow-growth phases, the cost of maintaining unassigned employees cuts into profit margins.
Senior Employees Hit Hardest
TCS insiders told ET Prime that the new policy disproportionately affects senior-level staff.
“For younger employees, it is easy for them to find a project. Clients accept their salaries and billing rates. For a more senior resource, the client acceptance is only the first step. Then you have to adjust within a project – it is not easy for a senior person to just enter a project, the team leader has to accept. There is that inter-personal peer relationship to consider. It is more complicated,” the employee who has been qouted above said.
The TCS employee said, “So, if you are a senior employee and your project ramps down or shuts down or changes focus, you land in the danger zone.”
When asked about the possibility of layoffs surpassing 12,000 because of this policy, TCS did not provide a direct response to ET Prime. A TCS executive told the outlet that the 12,000 figure included all workforce reductions but did not clarify how the bench policy would be applied if more employees hit the 35-day limit before the end of FY26.
