TCS to Cut 12,000 Jobs Amid Shift to AI and New Technologies.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services firm, will lay off over 12,000 employees—about 2% of its global workforce—during the 2026 financial year. The cuts will mainly impact middle and senior management, the company said on Sunday.
As TCS adapts to new technologies and operating models, it is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence, automation, and workforce reskilling. Despite efforts to retrain and redeploy employees, the company said some roles are no longer relevant in the evolving business environment.
“This transition is being planned with due care to ensure there is no impact on service delivery to our clients,” TCS said in a statement.
In an interview with Moneycontrol, TCS CEO K Krithivasan acknowledged the tough decision, saying, “Despite significant investments in employee development, we find that there are roles where redeployment has not been effective. This will impact roughly 2% of our global workforce, primarily at middle and senior levels.”
He clarified that the move isn’t directly due to AI-related job cuts or economic slowdown. “This is not because we need fewer people, but because we need different skills for the future,” he said.
Reactions Highlight AI Anxiety and Talent Management Concerns
The announcement triggered strong reactions on social media, with users pointing to rising fears around job losses caused by automation and AI.
“If TCS is laying off 12,000, what will happen in other IT firms?” one user wrote on X. Another posted, “The AI threat is already here. This move by TCS will send shockwaves through the Indian IT sector.”
Some Reddit users criticised internal workforce policies, claiming that TCS failed to align employee aspirations with actual work roles. “There are brilliant engineers doing support work, not by choice but because of poor project allocation,” one comment read.
Others pushed back against the idea that mid- or senior-level staff are to blame, arguing that layoffs reflect systemic issues in how IT firms manage talent during transitions.
Despite the criticism, TCS maintains that the workforce shift is essential for staying competitive and delivering value to clients in an AI-driven world.
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