‘Alarming’: Karnataka Labour Minister Summons TCS Over 12,000 Layoffs
Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad stated that he will review the labour law relaxations granted to Sunrise industries, as these come with certain conditions.
On Thursday, Karnataka’s Labour Minister Santosh Lad termed the layoff of 12,000 employees at TCS as “alarming” and mentioned that his department has summoned the IT firm to seek an explanation regarding the move.
Lad also said he would re-examine the exemptions provided under labour laws to Sunrise industries, as these concessions are conditional. He added that it is concerning that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had to implement mass layoffs.
“Yesterday, we received information that TCS has let go of 12,000 employees. Our department has called the TCS representatives for a consultation to understand the reason,” Lad informed reporters.
“We have kept sunrise industries outside the scope of certain labour laws, and for the past five years we’ve been granting them exemptions annually, but there are terms and conditions attached,” he noted. “If they intend to lay off employees, they must inform us. Accordingly, we are holding discussions with them.”
TCS had earlier indicated that it would cut around 2 percent of its global workforce — that is, about 12,261 employees — most of whom are in mid-level and senior roles.
As of 30 June, the total workforce at TCS stood at 6,13,069. The company added 5,000 employees during the April-June quarter. The layoffs are part of the company’s broader strategy to become a “future-ready organisation,” with a focus on technology investments, AI implementation, market expansion, and workforce restructuring, TCS stated.
The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) strongly opposed the large-scale retrenchment and has filed a complaint against TCS with Additional Labour Commissioner G Manjunath.
In its statement, the union demanded legal action against the TCS management for breaching the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and the conditions laid out by the Karnataka government regarding service record reporting.
The minister also mentioned that another purpose of summoning TCS and other firms was to inform them that the state government is not in favour of their request to increase the daily working hours to nine or ten. He added that only if employees themselves are willing, the government will consider approving such a request in line with the relevant guidelines.
“This depends entirely on the employees’ willingness. Those who oppose it will not be compelled to follow,” he clarified.
He further stated that in his view, implementing longer working hours is impractical because workers spend nearly four hours daily commuting. With an eight-hour workday and the heavy traffic conditions in Bengaluru, employees end up spending three to four hours just travelling.
“Even as a minister, when I consider this proposal to extend working hours, I feel it is unscientific. Extending work hours might be feasible for a week or ten days, but not for the entire year considering Bengaluru’s traffic congestion,” he said.
He also remarked that there’s nothing wrong with the industry’s claim that longer working hours could benefit both employees and employers. However, employees who are willing must submit written consent, and the rule cannot be imposed universally, he concluded.
