In a quick rebuttal to industry speculation, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has laid to rest the size of the cuts in staff at the firm. While several media outlets have quoted possible reductions of 50,000–80,000 staff, TCS Chief HR Officer Sudeep Kunnumal called those estimates “extremely exaggerated,” adding that a mere 1 percent of staff—approximately 6,000 employees—have been let go as part of a restructuring exercise.
Kunnumal underlined that the reductions are not target-based but are the result of a continuous realignment, specifically among mid-and senior-level talent whom the company concluded could not be redeployed effectively.
He added that TCS keeps recruiting: during the July–September quarter alone, a total of around 18,500 new employees were inducted, and all the earlier extended offers have been accepted.
These comments against the backdrop of significant workforce transformation: TCS’s reported headcount reduced by almost 19,755 workers in Q2 FY26, reducing overall strength to 593,314 from 613,069 in the last quarter.
The disparity between internal communication and the disclosure of numbers has raised an eyebrow among industry observers and employee circles, wondering if actual magnitude of churn is being understated.
What This Means for CHROs in IT / HR Services
This episode highlights some important challenges and changing expectations for Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) in the technology and services industry.
- Manage Public Narrative & Trust
Layoff gossip at this level can cause reputational harm, insider dissatisfaction, and outside focus. CHROs need to be ahead of the curve in speaking to both internal constituencies (workers, managers) and external constituencies (press, unions). The TCS example shows that there is a requirement for clear, consistent messaging—particularly where count differences may undermine confidence.
- Balancing Restructuring and Talent Acquisition
Even in the midst of cuts, TCS is hiring in a big way. That dichotomy—cutting jobs while still adding headcount—requires accuracy in talent planning, forecasting, and redeployment strategies. For CHROs, fluidity in shifting talent and predicting skills gaps is more important than ever.
- Redeployment vs. Release Decisions
Kunnumal’s message was on letting go of those “we could not redeploy in the right role.” That points toward an increasing CHRO mandate for building internal mobility, upskilling, reskilling, and talent alignment. Table stakes now encompass strong platforms for redeployment prior to contemplating termination.
- Empathy, Severance, and Employee Experience
When reductions in force happen, the way that it is done makes a difference. CHROs need to create severance, support, transition programs, and communications with fairness and empathy to maintain morale and limit adverse downstream impacts on culture.
- Strategic Workforce Planning in an AI / Automation Era
The mix of jobs in IT services is changing rapidly. CHROs need to remain one step ahead — predicting what skills are becoming redundant, what new ones are arising, and when restructuring is called for to stay competitive. The TCS shift is an indication that mid- and senior-level positions are on the radar as priorities shift in AI, cloud, data, automation, and digital transformation.
Also Read: UKG and Google Cloud Expand Partnership to Power the Future of Work with Agentic AI
Wider Impacts on Companies in the IT / Services Sector
Although this is a TCS-focused development, the ripple will be spread across the wider IT and HR services industry in India and worldwide.
Signal of Industry Reset
Scale was for so long a proxy for IT services strength—large headcounts, large centers of delivery, and deep bench strength. But with increased pressure on margins, automation, AI adoption, and muted client expenditure, the trend now is for “leaner, more outcome-based” models. TCS’s reductions are a leading indicator that even leaders in the industry are stepping up workforce rationalization.
Growing Pressure on Bench Management
One of the constant challenges in IT services is the “bench”—without client assignments. To maximize profitability, firms will prune or redeploy benched staff more aggressively. This dynamic creates risks of precipitous departures, attrition, and mental-health pressure, particularly at mid-level tiers.
Increased Competition for Digital Skills
As legacy roles get cut, the need for digital, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and data analytics skill increases. Organizations will fight hard to attract the best, challenging CHROs to reinvent talent acquisition, retention, and learning architecture.
Pressure on Employee Sentiment & Retention
Regular restructuring jeopardizes worker confidence and allegiance. Even indirectly impacted workers can feel uncertainty, declining engagement, productivity, or causing voluntary turnover. HR activities need to proactively mitigate morale, internal communication, and career progression in order to halt talent flight.
Benchmarking & Disclosure Expectations Rise
Investors, regulators, workers, and analysts increasingly demand transparency about workforce statistics—layoffs, attrition, hire rates, severance expenses. Inconsistencies between public comments and charts (as in the case of TCS) prompt criticism. Companies need to get their HR analytics, disclosure standards, and governance sharper.
Conclusion
TCS‘s release on layoffs—condemning exaggerated numbers and validating a more restrained ~6,000 reductions—provides a glimpse into how big tech services companies are shaping up to change. But the truth is hidden deeper: it highlights how CHROs in this sector are facing challenges to control narrative, repurpose talent, and shift workforce strategy in a changing skills environment.
For companies that do business in IT and HR services, the word is out. Size is no longer a bulwark—efficiency, skills agility, and workforce resilience will make or break success. The CHRO role is becoming more strategic, more under-the-microscope—and more critical to how companies survive and thrive in an age of rapid disruption.
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