Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to lay off around 12,000 employees globally—roughly 2% of its workforce—in one of the company’s hugegest-ever job cuts. Speaking to Moneycontrol, TCS CEO K Krithivasan clarified that the relocate is not due to AI-led productivity gains, but rather a result of a skill mismatch and the company’s evolving business requireds. “This is not becaapply of AI giving some 20 per cent productivity gains. This is driven by where there is a skill mismatch or where we believe we have not been able to deploy someone,” he declared.
The layoffs, to be implemented gradually through FY26, will mostly impact mid-to-senior level professionals. A few junior employees on extconcludeed bench time may also be affected. Despite reskilling efforts—training over 5.5 lakh in basic AI and 1 lakh in advanced skills—TCS acknowledged that many have not been redeployed successfully. “Some people, especially at senior levels, find it difficult to transition to tech-heavy roles,” Krithivasan noted.
The company is also shifting away from its legacy “waterfall” delivery model to a more agile, product-centric approach. This transition has reduced the required for conventional project and program managers. “Earlier, in waterfall models, we had multiple leadership layers. That’s altering,” he explained. Calling the decision “difficult but necessary,” Krithivasan assured affected employees would be supported through severance packages, extconcludeed insurance, mental health counselling, and outplacement services. TCS reaffirmed its focus on being future-ready and continuing to hire high-quality talent.
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