While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) decided to skip the meeting with the Ministry of Labour, it has sent a written response assuring that it will onboard more than 600 lateral hires who have been waiting with offer letters in hand.
The primary topic of discussion of the meeting with the Ministry was to be the delay in onboarding, which has affected many professionals across TCS offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
In its written response to the chief labour commissioner (CLC), TCS has conveyed that the job offers will be honoured and that the delays were attributed to the uncertainty that pervades in the markets, globally, and because its clients had deferred projects. The Indian multinational has reportedly clarified that it has only deferred the onboarding / induction process and not cancelled it altogether.
Last month, even while the buzz around TCS’ announcement to lay off two per cent of its global workforce was still on, the company had decided to freeze hiring too. To add to the anxiety, the company also decided to put a pause to annual salary increments, globally. These announcements coming one after the other naturally made those in the industry anxious, given the demand slump and increased focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
While TCS has always maintained that the layoffs were aimed at streamlining operations, ensuring agility and keeping pace with tech changes, the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) has been raising its voice against the decision calling it unfair and unlawful. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) had asked the Labour Ministry to intervene and seek clarity.
However, it is reported that the recent meeting was not about the layoffs but only about the delayed onboarding.
