TCS Layoffs Raise Concerns in Maharashtra IT Sector

The Maharashtra government reported TCS laid off 376 employees from its Pune campuses over two quarters, amid broader concerns of AI-driven job cuts in the IT industry. Labor Minister Aakash Fundkar clarified the layoffs impacted middle and senior management and were not due to AI and automation.

The Maharashtra government addressed the legislative council Tuesday, revealing Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) laid off 376 employees from Pune campuses in the current fiscal's two quarters. This comes amid broader discussions about significant retrenchments facing the IT mega-firm.

Information disclosed by Labour Minister Aakash Fundkar in the legislative upper house highlighted data from TCS after council members flagged widespread media reports about layoffs in the company.

Inquiries from MLCs Uma Khapre, Pravin Darekar, and Prasad Lad during Question Hour raised alarms over potential impacts of Artificial Intelligence in the IT field, querying whether nearly 30,000 staff were dismissed across Maharashtra cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur.

Fundkar responded that TCS reported employing 45,575 workers in Pune, and confirmed only 376 layoffs after consultative processes with affected employees.

He emphasized that the retrenchments were primarily middle to senior management levels, dehorsing AI automation as a causative layoff factor.

(With inputs from agencies.)