TCS layoffs: A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employee, in a post on Reddit, alleged “unethical” layoffs at the company, adding that the IT firm maintains a “fluidity list” and employees on this list are being terminated. The employees who are terminated by the company would not be eligible for severance pay either.
‘TCS has a fluidity list’
“Apparently, TCS has a ‘fluidity list’ and people are getting fired based on that,” wrote Ravi Handa, a podcast host, while sharing a screenshot of the post on X (formerly Twitter), before stressing that the company of interest here, TCS, is “the largest private employer in India”.
“Whatever is going on at TCS is unethical…,” read the title of the Reddit post marked with the “whistleblower” label.
The post claims that one employee at the Chennai office was laid off, adding that he was on the “fluidity list”.
“A mate just got called into a meeting room with his laptop and assets, in Chennai, Siruseri. He found a panel waiting for him there,” the Reddit post claimed.
Forced to write resignation letter
The employee was allegedly informed that his name was on the fluidity list and was pressured to submit a resignation letter without notice.
It added, “They mentioned his name was on some Fluidity List and he was coerced into writing a resignation letter to the company with no notice. This resulted in immediate termination.”
Since the termination was immediate in nature, the employee’s access badge, per the Redditor, was taken back, along with company assets.
“Turns out this is happening everywhere and the HR have to meet some target of culling jobs,” the Reddit user further alleged, before adding that “forcing an employee to write a resignation letter unwillingly is plain ruthless and unethical”.
The post further claimed that TCS is rescinding job offers just one day before the joining date and sending new employees home on their first day.
FinancialExpress.com contacted TCS for a comment, but had not received a response at the time of publishing this article.
Layoffs at TCS
TCS recently announced plans to trim 2 per cent of its global workforce, which amounts to over 12,000 employees. The company stated that this major restructuring is aimed at staying “future-ready” and improving “agility”.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, the IT firm’s CEO, K Krithivasan, clarified that the layoffs are not due to AI replacing jobs but stem from skill mismatches and evolving business requirements.
The company also assured that the impacted employees would receive severance pay, extended insurance coverage, notice period salary, and outplacement assistance to help them transition.
Benching policy, delayed onboarding
In addition to this, the company has also implemented stricter benching policies. Any employee who fails to achieve at least 225 billable days in a given year and spends more than 35 days on the desk will be asked to resign or face termination. Reports indicate that terminated employees may not be eligible for severance benefits.
“They are removing all the people who are on the bench for more than 2 months,” one affected employee told Moneycontrol, before adding that they are given an option to either resign or face termination. “If they don’t oblige, they will get terminated by the company and won’t be eligible to get the severance pay either.”
The affected employee explained, “First, they are allocating an HR person to each employee to meet in person. On meeting them, they will ask the employee to resign immediately, and they will get around 3 months’ salary in severance pay.”
“It’s not an efficiency drive. We just want to ensure associates are able to seek projects and ensure that they remain productive through the year… This is more to put a positive pressure and incentive for them to be allocated and be engaged in client projects,” Krithivasan had earlier said.
Saubhik Bhattacharya, General Secretary of AIITEU, has pointed out the delay in hirings, noting that around 500 people were offered positions during June -July 2025.
Krithivasan had also acknowledged delays in client decision-making during the April-June quarter of FY25. “There were very few cancellations; it was more delays or scope reduction. In some places where you expected the project to be finalised and start the work, there were decision-making delays.”
TCS salary hike
In September 2025, TCS announced a salary revision process, offering hikes between 4.5% and 7% for around 80% of its employees, while high performers received raises exceeding 10%. The revisions, applicable from September 1, 2025, were announced after a five-month postponement attributed to broader economic uncertainties.
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