Tata Consultancy Services, the Indian IT giant has come up with a fresh move of offering up to 2 years' salary in severance packages. This is for employees whose skills no longer align with the constantly evolving market landscape, client demands and most importantly the ongoing technological shifts.
Severance details
Initially, employees are to receive three months’ notice pay, followed by severance pay. This can range from 6 months to a total of 2years. Further on, bench employees who, even after 8 months have not been allocated will also receive a 3 months' notice pay. However, the operative concern of the matter lies in the fact that middle aged and senior level staff will bear the brunt of this change the most. Those with over 15 years of service will be eligible for 2years of pay while those ranging within 10-15 years will be eligible for 1.5years of pay.
Support beyond pay
The IT giant is also willing to extend their support beyond financial assistance, through measures such as outplacement services for initially three months or even longer if required. Owing to this, employees will be able to secure new roles within or outside of the company. Added to this is the benefit of mental health services open to select employees, through TCS’s “TCS Cares” program. Another remarkable option is that of full retirement with all the benefits that come with it and even additional severance based on tenure served.
Completion and ongoing support
While most of the layoffs have been completed within August and September of this year, the Resource Management Group (RMG), will take care of the remaining benched or unallocated employees. Under RMG these employees will explore internal transfer. This process has been labelled as the toughest in the recent years by TCS CEO Krithivasan, who has, with much conviction emphasised this restructuring will not proceed without a strong individual support system in place.
Strategic workforce realignment
In the rapidly evolving IT market, this move from TCS is a strong reflection of their intention to make its work force future proof and stay competitive with a streamlined operative force. The software titan seeking to manage its workforce in a responsible manner shows their commitments towards accountability while still remaining agile in the constant flux of global markets.
