Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has completed the first round of its new bench policy, and many employees are now feeling anxious about their future at the company.The policy, introduced on June 12, limits the time employees can remain without project work to just 35 days. After this, they face the risk of losing out on promotions or even losing their jobs.Several workers have taken to social media platforms like Reddit to share their worries. Some say they are being pushed into projects that do not match their skills. Others complain about being rejected by clients during interviews or being asked to work in cities far from their home locations.One post said, 'This is the first step towards employment rationalisation based on utilisation. Brace for layoffs.'Another user, who recently joined the company, wrote, as quoted by The Economic Times, 'I was trained in Java, but within a month of being on the bench, I was being forced into a support project that doesn't use Java or Python.'There is no official number on how many employees might be affected. However, industry experts say that about 15–18% of workers in top Indian IT firms are usually on the bench. With a workforce of around 6.13 lakh employees, the impact at TCS could be wide-reaching.An employee rights group, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has raised the issue with the government. In a letter to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, NITES called the policy 'inhumane' and 'exploitative.' The group accused TCS of threatening employees with job loss and denying them experience letters if they fail to find a new project in time.'These are not non-performing employees, but skilled professionals who find themselves temporarily without allocation Instead of support, they are met with suspicion, coercion, and threats,' said NITES president Harpreet Singh Saluja.On the other hand, some voices on Reddit support the move, claiming that some staff have misused the bench system. 'This may help TCS trim some seriously underperforming resources, those stuck on TCS like a leech,' one user posted.In response to the growing concerns, TCS CEO and MD K Krithivasan told The Times of India that the policy simply makes an old practice more structured. 'It's always been expected that associates take responsibility for their careers,' he said. 'While HR supports project placement, we also expect associates to proactively seek new assignments after completing existing ones.'He added that TCS invests in training its employees and wants to see them deployed after that. 'Projects are driven by client needs, not personal choice. If skill gaps exist, we try to close them before deployment.'Krithivasan did not answer questions about whether TCS has stopped salaries for employees on the bench for long periods.According to a report by The Economic Times (ET), the company is facing pressure from rising employee costs and slower business growth. TCS recently reported its third quarter in a row of decline. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is automating many routine IT tasks, making it harder to place entry-level engineers.'IT companies are likely to get stricter with bench policies because of soft business conditions and a shift toward high-demand skills,' said Pareekh Jain, founder and CEO of IT consulting firm EIIRTrend. He added that employee costs are affecting company profits, so tighter rules may follow across the industry.Other experts agree. Nitin Bhatt, who leads the technology sector at EY India, said that tech companies are now asking employees to upgrade their skills to match changing client needs. 'By revisiting bench policies, companies are pushing workers to reskill in areas like AI, cybersecurity, and digital engineering,' he said.He also believes that in the future, promotions and pay raises will be based more on skills than on job titles or years of service.TCS Chief Financial Officer Samir Seksaria recently told ET that employee utilisation at the company had dropped, leading to a hit on profits. The company's wage bill touched an all-time high of Rs 37,715 crore in the April–June quarter, making up nearly 59.5% of its revenue. Attrition also remained high at 13.8%.Rival firm HCL Technologies is also feeling the pressure. It saw a fall in profit margins due to delays in project starts and skill-location mismatches, its CEO C Vijayakumar said during a recent earnings call..- Ends advertisement
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