Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services company, has announced plans to lay off around 12,000 employees, accounting for 2% of its workforce.
The job cuts will primarily affect middle and senior management roles, Reuters reported on Sunday.
TCS CEO and MD K Krithivasan clarified that artificial intelligence (AI) is not the reason behind the layoffs. “This is driven by areas where there is a skill mismatch or where we have not been able to deploy someone,” he told Moneycontrol.
Krithivasan added that while 5.5 lakh employees have been trained in basic skills and 1 lakh in advanced skills, some senior professionals face challenges adapting to newer technologies. “At a very senior level, they may not be able to leverage entry-level skills,” he said.
The move has reignited discussions on the ‘shelf life’ of tech professionals. Many industry experts and netizens believe that mid and senior managers, often seen as non-billable resources, are at the highest risk during cost-cutting measures.
