Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is at the center of a growing controversy following its recent decision to lay off around 12,000 employees—about 2 percent of its global workforce. While the company has clarified that the cuts are due to a mismatch in skillsets and not cost-cutting, the timing of this restructuring has drawn heavy criticism, especially in light of CEO K. Krithivasan’s compensation package.
Congress party leader Praveen Chakravarty had several reactions to his opinion on the latest layoff. He said on X that Krithivasan’s yearly package was at Rs. 35 crore, the top five leadership's total income in at Rs. 40 crore, and the average employee is paid around Rs. 15 lakhs. "If the top 100 took small paycuts, it can save 12,000 jobs. Their lives wont be terrible at Rs. 2.5 crore pay vs Rs. 3 crore. But for 12000 families, lives will be miserable at 0 pay vs Rs. 15 lacs pay. AI is real; mass layoffs need not be," he quipped.
According to TCS's latest annual report, Krithivasan earned Rs. 26.52 crore in FY 2024–25, marking a 4.6 percent increase from the previous year. While this figure is lesser than what Chakravarty claims, it is still nearly 330 times the median salary of a TCS employee, intensifying public outcry over perceived income inequality.
The layoffs primarily target mid- and senior-level employees who have not been deployed to active projects. TCS has stated that this move is part of a long-term strategy to align its talent pool with evolving business requirements.
However, social media users have taken issue with what they see as a glaring contradiction—executive pay continues to rise while thousands lose their jobs. One viral post argued that for the affected families, the consequences of losing employment far outweigh the cost of marginally reducing executive pay. Another user remarked that if just Rs. 15 lakh were deducted from each senior executive, many jobs could potentially be saved.
Not everyone agrees with the criticism. Some online voices have defended the CEO’s compensation, pointing out that companies are not charities and that executive salaries reflect the responsibilities and results they deliver. They argue that layoffs are a business decision tied to demand and performance, not a measure of empathy. CEO Krithivasan himself stated that the job cuts are unrelated to cost-saving measures and instead are about optimizing skill deployment.
