Days after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) admitted that it has lain off 19755 employees during its Q2 FY26 results announcement last week, three IT unions issued a statement on Sunday, October 12, asking the state and Union governments to take responsibility for their failure to enforce labour laws and regulate IT companies.

The joint statement was issued by the Karnataka State IT/ITES Employees Union (KITU) general secretary Suhas Adiga, Association of IT Employees (AITE)-Kerala general secretary AD Jayan, and Union of IT and ITES Employees (UNITE)-Tamil Nadu general secretary Alagunambi Welkin.

The statement said, “We urge the state and central governments to take immediate responsibility for their failure to enforce labour laws and regulate IT companies, allowing corporations like TCS to exploit and mistreat employees with impunity. The lack of effective oversight and enforcement has emboldened companies to disregard workers’ rights, and it is imperative that governments take concrete actions to protect the rights and livelihoods of workers by regulating these companies immediately.”

In the earnings call, TCS has accepted that it has seen a net reduction of 19,755 employees during the quarter. The company has officially reported a total headcount of 5,93,314 against 6,13,069 in Q1FY26. The statement also said the company has “let go” 38,255 employees in Q2. “When combined with the number of new hires made during the same period, it reveals that a staggering 38,255 employees were let go in this single quarter.”

Two days ago, the newly-appointed CHRO, Sudeep Kunnumal, who was earlier global head of human resources at TCS, had said only 6,000 employees’ departures were due to “involuntary attrition”. The unions have disputed the claim, stating that “the company employed cruel and illegal methods to force these employees out”.

The statement also said. “By openly accepting that it has retrenched 6,000 employees, TCS has admitted to a violation of the Industrial Disputes Act, which mandates proper procedure and prior government approval for such a mass termination. The government must immediately intervene to uphold the law of the land.”

[Report by Sanal Sudevan of The New Indian Express]