As Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) moves to reduce its workforce by over 12,000 employees, industry body Nasscom has stepped in to frame the development not as a crisis, but as part of a broader transition within the IT sector.
Nasscom describes the current moment as an inflection point, driven by the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and evolving client expectations. These changes are prompting a re-evaluation of traditional service models and pushing the industry toward more product-aligned, AI-powered delivery frameworks.
Despite the near-term disruptions, Nasscom maintains a long-term optimistic outlook. It emphasizes that every technological shift creates new roles, opportunities, and value chains. The key to navigating this change lies in building a future-ready workforce through aggressive and strategic skilling efforts.
The transition is already underway. By the fourth quarter of FY25, over 1.5 million IT professionals across India had received training in AI and generative AI (GenAI). Among them, more than 95,000 have completed advanced certifications in specialized domains such as cloud-native AI, embedded systems, and applied intelligence—demonstrating the sector’s proactive approach to transformation.
Nasscom has called for a collaborative approach, urging stronger partnerships between industry stakeholders, academic institutions, and government bodies. It stressed that skilling, upskilling, and cross-skilling must now be treated as national and business imperatives to ensure India retains its leadership in the global AI landscape.
Meanwhile, concerns remain over the handling of layoffs. The IT Ministry is currently monitoring the situation at TCS, following a formal complaint by the employee union NITES alleging violations of labour laws.
For Nasscom, however, the message is clear: the future of tech work in India should be shaped by empowerment through skills, not driven by fear of job loss.
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