Troubles deepen at TCS; Honasa's beauty-tech plan

Time of India

2 days ago

Troubles deepen at TCS; Honasa's beauty-tech plan
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CS to freeze senior hiring, pause annual salary hikes
Details:
Onboarding of senior hires has been delayed by over 65 days.
At the same time, the company has started phasing out hundreds of bench employees across multiple cities as part of a tighter utilisation push.
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TCS layoffs draw government attention
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Union heat:
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Honasa looks beyond beauty and skincare to new growth categories
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Go Digit's first quarter profit climbs 37% to Rs 138 crore
Details:
Net profit of Rs 138.3 crore compared with Rs 101.3 crore a year earlier.
of Rs 138.3 crore compared with Rs 101.3 crore a year earlier. Total income rose 4% to Rs 2,179.4 crore.
rose 4% to Rs 2,179.4 crore. Expenses increased 3% to Rs 2,058.5 crore.
increased 3% to Rs 2,058.5 crore. Gross written premium , i.e. the total premium collected before accounting for expenses, up 12% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,981.8 crore.
, i.e. the total premium collected before accounting for expenses, up 12% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,981.8 crore.
Net premium earned at Rs 1,865 crore.
Agritech startup DeHaat posts profit in Q1, says founder
Revenue in FY25 was at Rs 3,000 crore, up 11% year-on-year
CEO Shashank Kumar said DeHaat's annual revenue run rate was at Rs 4,000 crore.
He did not provide the profit and revenue figures for the first quarter.
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Global Picks We Are Reading
Happy Tuesday! After announcing over 12,000 layoffs, TCS now plans to pause senior hiring and annual appraisals. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.■ Go Digit's Q1 report■ Wipro's PCB unit facility■ Navi debt raiseK Krithivasan, CEO, TCSDays after announcing plans to lay off 12,000 employees —roughly 2% of its global headcount—Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is hitting pause on senior-level hiring and freezing annual salary hikes worldwide, according to people familiar with the matter.The slowdown is already visible.Analysts say TCS's move could trigger a broader industry reset , with other IT majors likely to mirror the cost-control playbook, as they grapple with soft demand and margin pressure.So far, no peer has announced layoffs at this scale, but the slowdown is real. TCS added just 5,000 employees in Q1 FY26, while rivals like Infosys have eased off hiring.In 2017, Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant collectively laid off thousands of employees due to automation concerns and stricter US visas. Later, between 2020 and 2022, companies carried out silent layoffs by extending bench periods and reducing new hires.Brokerage firm Jefferies said this may be a 'canary in the coal mine' moment for IT services. 'TCS's move to cut 2% of its workforce may lead to execution slippages in the near term and higher attrition in the longer run for the firm and reflects a weak demand environment for the sector,' the report said.India's IT Ministry is closely monitoring TCS's decision to cut 12,261 jobs – roughly 2% of its global workforce – as alarm grows over job losses at India's largest tech firm. Government officials are in touch with TCS, seeking clarity on the rationale behind the move.The ministry may push for more aggressive skilling interventions and wants clearer insight into existing talent gaps. TCS, for its part, said it will offer severance packages, counselling support, and outplacement services to affected employees.Employee union Nascent IT Employees Senate (NITES) has urged labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya to halt TCS's plan to axe over 12,000 jobs , calling the move 'illegal' and demanding the reinstatement of affected employees.In its letter, NITES accused the IT giant of sidelining over 600 lateral hires and questioned the fairness of the layoffs, pointing to hefty executive pay packets. The union also called on the government to hold senior leadership accountable.Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh, founders, Honasa ConsumerHonasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, is looking to expand into new product lines as its once-flagship brand loses steam.The company is exploring a range of beauty tech products, including laser masks, LED light therapy devices, facial rollers, and face massagers, sources told us. These high-margin categories, often associated with Korean skincare and haircare routines, are drawing growing interest from both Indian and global brands.Honasa is also doubling down on its newer labels, notably The Derma Co. and Dr Sheth's, which are showing strong momentum. On its Q4 FY25 earnings call, CEO Varun Alagh said these younger grands grew over 30% year-on-year.Honasa posted operating revenue of Rs 2,067 crore in FY25, though net profit dipped to Rs 73 crore from Rs 111 crore the previous year. With Mamaearth plateauing, the company is not bettting on premiumisation and innovation to drive its next phase.ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.Interested? Reach out to us at [e-mail] to explore sponsorship opportunities.Kamesh Goyal, founder, Go DigitGo Digit General Insurance on Monday reported a nearly 37% rise in net profit for the first quarter on the back of growth in gross written premiums.Temasek-backed agritech startup DeHaat posted a net profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 due to high-margin private label sales and exclusive agri-input distribution, along with increased focus on exports, storage and food processing.Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN) announced a new business division , Wipro Electronic Materials, on Monday, focusing on the manufacturing of high-performance materials for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal's fintech venture Navi Technologies has raised Rs 170 crore through a debt funding round led by PhillipCapital, with NDX Financial Services, Arpee Commercial Company, Ambit Finvest, and Grey Grass India, among others, taking part.Vision AI mobile app testing platform Drizz has secured $2.7 million in its maiden funding round , led by early-stage venture capital firm Stellaris Venture Partners. The funds will be used to advance the company's vision AI engine, expand its engineering team and strengthen research capabilities.■ From cheating exposés to dating background checks, TikTok detectives are thriving ( Wired ■ The truly worrying thing about the Coldplay concert scandal ( FT ■ BYD distracted the world while Chinese EV peers staged a coup ( Rest of World