Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Thursday said his department has asked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to explain the reasons behind the reported large-scale layoffs.
"Yesterday we got information that TCS has laid off 12,000 employees. Our department has called TCS officials just to have a consultation to know the reason," the minister told reporters in Bengaluru according to news agency PTI.
He said that sunrise industries have been exempted from labour laws, but with conditions. "We have kept the sunrise companies outside the ambit of labour laws, and for the past five years, we have been giving them exemption year after year. But there are conditions attached," Lad noted.
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"If they want to lay off somebody, they have to give us information. Accordingly, we are talking to them," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"If they want to lay off somebody, they have to give us information. Accordingly, we are talking to them," he added.
{{/usCountry}}TCS has reportedly indicated that it plans to reduce around 2% of its global workforce, about 12,261 employees, this year, primarily affecting middle and senior-level staff. As of June 30, 2025, TCS had a workforce of 6,13,069 and added 5,000 new employees in the April–June quarter.
The move is part of the company’s broader realignment strategy to become a "future-ready organisation," with a focus on AI deployment, technology investments, market expansion, and organisational restructuring.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) has raised a strong objection to the layoffs. The union has filed a complaint against TCS with the Additional Labour Commissioner G Manjunath.
In a statement, the union said it is demanding legal action against the company’s management for violating provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and for not complying with the conditions mandated by the Karnataka government concerning the reporting of employee status.
Minister Lad further said that another reason for summoning TCS and other companies was to inform them that the state government is not accepting their request to extend working hours to 9–10 hours a day.
"If employees are ready to work, then we will consider the request as per the guidelines and grant permission. But this is subject to employees' willingness. Those who reject the permission will not be forced to do it,” Lad clarified.
He also said implementing longer working hours isn’t practical given the time lost in traffic.
"As a minister too, when I see the proposal of increasing working hours, I feel it's not scientific. Increasing hours might be feasible for a week or ten days, but not throughout the year given Bengaluru's traffic," Lad explained.
He added that while the industry may claim longer hours benefit both employers and employees, such measures can't be imposed universally.
"Employees who agree to increase working hours must give written consent, but we cannot implement it across the board,” the minister said.
(With PTI inputs)
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