After Tata Consulting Services (TCS) announced its plan to fire over 12,000 employees in fiscal year 2025-2026 (FY26), government organisations and unions have sought answers from the company regarding the move.
However, Priyank Kharge, the Minister for Information Technology in the Karnataka state government, has stated that the move made by TCS does not require government intervention as it is a “business decision.”
“As far as I’m aware, TCS overestimated their business and had a heavy bench strength, thus leading to a course correction. A very little part of it had to do with artificial intelligence (AI),” Kharge shared with Mint. “Now, be it AI or any other disruptive technology, the industry needs to ensure that their human resources remain on top of necessary skills. As the state government, we need to work with industries to ensure that the available talent becomes more employable.”
The minister emphasised that a government intervention will be required only if it is found that AI upskilling is needed to keep the technology workforce intact. Kharge’s comment comes after K Krithivasan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at TCS, emphasised that the layoffs are not due to AI. TCS also came under fire after it announced a new benching policy in June 2025 that mandated its employees to be a part of a billed project for at least 225 days in a year.
Kharge’s comment is in contrast with the statement given by Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad.
“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,” Lad stated, adding, “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. If they want to lay off somebody, they have to give us information. Accordingly, we are talking to them.”