Mumbai: A former senior employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has alleged that he was forced to resign after spending over 200 days unallocated—or “on the bench”—sparking a wider debate about fairness, communication, and workforce management in India’s IT industry.
The ex-employee, who claims to have worked with TCS for more than 20 years, shared his experience on Reddit, in a post titled “TCS Layoff – A Senior Employee Without Any Severance Package.” His detailed account, posted on the r/DevelopersIndia subreddit, has since gone viral, receiving thousands of reactions and comments from current and former IT professionals.
⚙️ Employee Alleges Unfair Discharge and Policy Gap
In his post, the former employee said he was “discharged” after spending 200 days unallocated—a benchmark he claims was not part of any official TCS policy at the time of his termination.
“I was given a discharge on the basis of a milestone of 200 days unallocation — a milestone that is neither mentioned in the company’s separation policy nor communicated to me by the RMG team, even though I was in touch with them regularly,” he wrote.
He further alleged that all senior-level positions were often filled through personal contacts rather than official job postings on TCS’s internal LEAD portal, leaving many senior employees without opportunities to reallocate.
💼 No Advance Notice, No Severance
The former TCS professional claimed he was given no advance notice and was asked to resign or face termination during a short 30-minute meeting.
“I expected at least formal communication. As per the Separation Policy — under ‘Separation Due to Business Exigency,’ employees should be given advance notice. But I was never informed of any such milestone,” he wrote.
He added that TCS updated its policy to include a benchmark after his case, calling it a post-facto justification.
“During my discharge, there was no such policy. One fine day, they just asked me to resign or face termination. This is unfair,” he said, accusing the Resource Management Group (RMG) and HR department of targeting senior employees.
🌐 Mixed Reactions Online
The Reddit post drew mixed reactions. Some users empathized with the employee, citing the lack of transparency in large IT firms.
“You won’t believe this, but it’s perfectly normal within TCS that you can remain on the bench indefinitely. With AI and efficiency measures, TCS is now tightening processes, which is taking long-tenured individuals by surprise,” wrote one commenter.
Others, however, argued that remaining unallocated for over six months made termination likely.
“If you were not assigned for 200 days, you should have explored other opportunities. It’s unrealistic to stay idle that long,” one user wrote.
📉 Layoffs and Industry Context
TCS, India’s largest IT exporter, has been facing growing operational pressures due to AI automation, global demand slowdown, and client spending cuts.
In the quarter ending September 30, TCS’s total headcount dropped by 19,755 employees — its sharpest decline in recent years, bringing the company’s workforce below the 6,00,000 mark for the first time in two years.
While TCS has not commented on the viral Reddit post, the incident has triggered discussions about employee treatment, communication practices, and transparency across India’s IT sector.
Originally published on newsworldstime.com.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
