12,000 Jobs Cut at TCS: The Wake-Up Call Every IT Professional Needs

Jul 31, 2025

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In a significant and unprecedented move, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)—India’s largest IT services firm—has announced the layoff of approximately 12,000 employees, accounting for about 2% of its global workforce. This strategic workforce reduction is part of the company’s restructuring and transformation agenda for the financial year 2025–2026.

🔍 Who Is Being Affected?

The layoffs are not targeted at a single department or level but are concentrated in specific workforce segments:

Middle and Senior Management:
Employees in managerial roles who are no longer aligned with the company’s agile, flatter, and tech-driven structure are being let go.
Non-Billable Staff on Long-Term Bench:
Those who have remained unassigned to projects or client accounts for an extended period are also being identified for exit.
Employees with Skill Mismatches:
Professionals whose skills are not in sync with the current and emerging business needs—especially those without AI, cloud, or automation competencies.
Legacy Technology Roles:
Employees working in outdated tech stacks, traditional infrastructure, or roles with declining demand in the services market.

📆 Layoff Timeline

The restructuring is being rolled out in phases:

The process began in Q1 FY26 (April–June 2025).
The majority of impacted employees are being identified and exited in Q2 and Q3 FY26 (July–December 2025).
The process is expected to be largely completed by March 2026.

💡 Why Is This Happening?

The layoffs are part of a broader shift in TCS’s strategy and operating model, driven by several underlying factors:

Business Model Evolution:
- TCS is moving away from a legacy, people-heavy delivery model to a more digital-first, AI-powered, and agile structure.
- The new focus is on automation, outcome-based delivery, and productized services—which require fewer but more skilled employees.
Client Demand Shifts:
- Clients are demanding more cost-effective, tech-integrated, and lean execution models, reducing reliance on long delivery chains.
AI Integration and Workforce Rationalization:
- While AI isn’t the primary reason, the company has trained over 5.5 lakh employees in basic AI tools and over 1 lakh in advanced AI.
- However, not all reskilled employees have been effectively redeployed, leading to difficult decisions.
Cost Optimization & Margin Pressure:
- The reduction is expected to improve operating margins by cutting overheads and reducing non-performing cost centers.
Organizational Flattening:
- A deliberate move to remove hierarchical bottlenecks, making the company more agile and responsive to changing client requirements.

🧭 How Is the Layoff Being Executed?

TCS is executing the layoffs through a combination of:

Performance exits based on productivity and deployability reviews.
Project reallocation audits identifying those with minimal billable contributions.
Voluntary separation offers in some units.
HR-led restructuring exercises targeting redundant layers and units.

❤️ Support for Affected Employees

While this move is disruptive, TCS has stated it is handling the process with empathy and care. Support initiatives for impacted employees include:

Severance packages, tailored to grade and years of service.
Extended medical insurance coverage for a defined period post-exit.
Access to mental wellness programs and psychological counseling.
Outplacement assistance through career transition partnerships.
Skill certification access, allowing employees to continue their upskilling journey.

📉 Broader Industry Implications

The TCS layoff is not an isolated incident. It reflects a larger shift in the Indian and global IT landscape, where:

Traditional manpower-driven IT service delivery is being phased out.
Companies are aggressively integrating AI, automation, and low-code platforms.
There is a growing need for multidisciplinary skills and continuous adaptability.
The middle layer of the workforce is increasingly at risk, particularly those who haven’t evolved with the market.

🚨 Seriousness of the Situation

The layoff of 12,000 employees by an organization historically known for job security marks a turning point:

It sends a strong message to the entire IT industry: no role is permanently safe, and complacency is costly.
It signals to professionals across all levels to reassess their career direction, invest in future-proof skills, and stay prepared for volatility.

✅ Summary Snapshot

Parameter	Details
Total Jobs Affected	~12,000 (approx. 2% of total workforce)
Impacted Roles	Middle & senior managers, legacy tech, bench
Rollout Period	FY 2025–26 (April 2025 – March 2026)
Key Drivers	Skill mismatch, restructuring, agility push
Support Provided	Severance, health coverage, job support
Strategic Outcome Expected	Leaner structure, margin optimization, agility

In essence, TCS’s restructuring and layoff initiative underscores the message: adapt or risk redundancy. It’s a critical moment for every professional in the industry to evolve, not just for career growth, but for career survival.

How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Midst of Tech Layoffs

The recent wave of layoffs in the tech industry is not just a headline—it’s a reality check for employees across levels. When a giant like TCS begins laying off thousands of employees, primarily from middle and senior levels, it’s a clear signal that the industry is shifting gears. It’s not just TCS. In the past year alone, thousands have lost jobs at other major IT and tech firms in India and abroad—roles across software engineering, project management, support functions, and even leadership positions.

Why Is This Happening?

The reasons range from skill mismatches, automation, digital transformation, flattening of hierarchies, and margin pressures. As businesses push for leaner, more agile models, the old “experience alone is enough” narrative no longer holds. Companies are looking for employees who are adaptable, tech-savvy, and ready to take on newer roles involving AI, data, cloud, and automation.

So how can you, as a working professional, shield yourself from becoming a part of this layoff narrative?

🔑 1. Upskill Relentlessly – Especially in AI, Data, and Automation

The biggest shift in today’s tech world is the adoption of Artificial Intelligence and automation tools. Whether you’re in software development, HR, finance, or project management—AI is becoming part of your workflow. Learning how to use these tools or even build with them gives you an edge.

What You Can Do:

Enroll in structured, job-relevant courses (especially hands-on ones).
Learn prompt engineering, ChatGPT use-cases, or automate reports using Power BI or Excel AI features.
For non-tech roles: understand how AI impacts your domain, and reposition yourself accordingly.

🧠 2. Don’t Just Upskill—Reskill If Needed

Sometimes your current role or skill set may be on a long-term decline. Reskilling means learning something entirely new—moving from a sunset industry to a sunrise one.

Examples:

From manual testing to automation testing or DevOps.
From traditional finance roles to FinTech or data analytics.
From generalist project managers to agile product owners.

💼 3. Build a Personal Brand

When layoffs happen, visibility becomes your armor. A well-maintained LinkedIn profile, a small blog, or public contributions (GitHub, articles, YouTube tutorials, speaking at webinars) can help you stand out during hiring freezes or role eliminations.

Tip: Share what you learn. Document your projects. Help others. It makes recruiters come to you.

🔄 4. Stay Billable. Stay Deployable.

Many layoffs begin with employees who are on the bench for too long. Always keep yourself in deployable shape. If your current skill set doesn’t have internal demand, ask for shadow projects or short-term assignments. Volunteer for cross-functional work if needed.

🌍 5. Explore Freelancing or Side Hustles

Today’s professionals should not rely on a single income stream. A side gig can both help you survive layoffs and thrive independently.

Ideas:

Freelance Excel dashboards, reports, or website setups.
Tutor online in your area of expertise.
Create digital products or courses.
Provide resume and interview preparation support.

🧰 6. Sharpen Soft Skills – Not Optional Anymore

As automation increases, what becomes irreplaceable are skills like:

Communication
Critical thinking
Conflict resolution
Leadership in hybrid teams

The more you can collaborate, present, and lead without supervision, the harder it is for your role to be eliminated.

🛡️ 7. Prepare for the Worst—But Plan for the Best

You don’t control the market. But you do control:

Your emergency fund (aim for 6–9 months of expenses).
Keeping your resume and portfolio updated.
Having 2–3 job-ready skills at any point.
Staying mentally resilient and professionally visible.

🔍 A Bigger Picture: You’re Not Alone

This layoff season isn’t isolated to one company or geography. Roles are being redefined. Industries are transforming. Layoffs have hit tech support, HR, middle managers, developers, and even digital marketing experts.

But many professionals who stayed agile, embraced change, and evolved—have bounced back stronger, sometimes with better roles and salaries.

✅ Final Words

A layoff doesn’t define your career. Your response to this shift does.

Don’t wait for your company to make the next move—you move first. Learn faster than the world changes. Stay valuable. Stay visible. Stay employable.

Because in the age of automation and uncertainty, only one thing is guaranteed: change.
And the only way to survive it—is to lead it.