IT employees union in Chennai protests against mass layoffs at TCS

CHENNAI: The Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) held a protest in Chennai city on Tuesday against Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported decision to lay off 12,000 of its mid and senior level employees. Members of the organisation said that freshers are hired at 80%-85% lesser pay to replace experienced employees. TCS is in the process of laying off staff at senior and managerial levels. At the end of this, nearly 30,000 to 40,000 staff may lose their jobs, said Janani of UNITE. Demanding to reskill and upskill the staff instead of discarding them, the protesters sought the company to stop the large-scale retrenchment. With a revenue of 2.55 lakh crore and an operating profit margin of 24.3% and a 45,588 crore dividend, 12,000 jobs are slashed, stated a press release from UNITE. The release added that those at the top are rewarded with obscene pay hikes, which are denied to the average worker. Meanwhile, the government has remained silent, continuing to award public contracts to the firm, it added.