TCS delays onboarding of lateral recruits; after bribes for jobs scam, now faces project delays

Tata Consultancy Services has decided to postpone the onboarding of lateral hires, ranging from 1.8 to 15 years of experience, by three months, reported Money Control quoting sources. This is mainly due to delays in commencement of projects.

The IT sector in India has already been affected by macroeconomic headwinds, resulting in project deferrals and budget cuts by clients.

This delay in onboarding lateral recruits is impacting over 200 hires across various cities, including Bangalore, Pune, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Delhi NCR, and Indore.

Initially, these recruits experienced a one-month delay in their onboarding process, but subsequently, they received two to three new joining dates. However, on July 10, they were informed via email that their joining dates have been further pushed to October.

An employee, with over over 10 years of experience told Moneycontrol that he was recruited for a specific project. Despite continuous follow-ups during his notice period, he received no word on his onboarding formalities. Another employee with less than two years of experience saw his onboarding date changed for the fourth time after being laid off by his previous company. The reason behind these delays was reportedly a decision made by the top management

TCS grappling with bribes-for-jobs scam

This situation comes in the midst of another hiring scam that recently surfaced at TCS. Several staffing firms were found bribing senior executives in the company's Resource Management Group (RMG) to gain preferential business opportunities. TCS took action by terminating six employees and banning six staffing firms, with an ongoing investigation involving three additional employees.

TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran acknowledged the need to address these issues and stated that the company is reviewing its supply management process to prevent such incidents in the future.

Furthermore, TCS has been experiencing volatility in customer demand, despite securing significant deals and renewals with existing UK clients. The company's chairman highlighted the uncertainties in the global economic situation, inflation, and slowing growth, which lead companies to adjust their spending and prioritize capital investments.