Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has assured the Ministry of Labour that it will onboard over 600 lateral hires holding pending offer letters, even as it skipped a scheduled meeting with the ministry.
The meeting, convened by the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC), was expected to address delays in onboarding, which have impacted professionals across TCS offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
In a written response to the CLC, TCS attributed the delays to global market uncertainties and deferred client projects. The IT major emphasised that the onboarding process had only been postponed, not cancelled.
The development comes amid industry concerns following TCS’ recent announcements — including plans to lay off 2% of its global workforce, a freeze on new hiring, and a pause on annual salary increments worldwide. These moves have heightened anxieties in the sector, especially in the wake of slowing demand and a growing shift towards artificial intelligence (AI).
While TCS maintains that the layoffs are part of operational streamlining and adapting to technological changes, employee bodies such as the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) have criticised the move as unfair and unlawful. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) had earlier urged the Labour Ministry to intervene and seek clarity.
Sources confirmed that the latest meeting was focused solely on delayed onboarding, not layoffs.
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