TCS Denies Allegations of Discrimination Based on Race, Age and National Origin Amid EEOC Investigation
- Company employees from non-South Asian ethnic backgrounds over the age of 40, say the company targeted them for layoffs but spared Indian colleagues, some of whom were working on H-1B skilled-worker visas.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s leading IT outsourcing giants, has denied allegations of discrimination during recent layoffs at its U.S. locations. The company is currently under investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) following claims from American employees that they were discriminated against based on their race, age, and national origin. They are largely professionals from non-South Asian ethnic backgrounds over the age of 40, who say the company targeted them for layoffs but spared Indian colleagues, some of whom were working on H-1B skilled-worker visas. They began filing complaints against TCS in late 2023.
TCS is India’s biggest IT services firm by revenue, with more than 600,000 employees globally. It is one of India’s best-known companies, part of the sprawling Tata Group, and like other outsourcers, it serves U.S clients such as airlines, automakers, financial institutions, and more.
In their complaints, the former workers noted that their dismissals came after TCS’s head of global human resources, Milind Lakkad (top photo), told an Indian news agency that “TCS was open to hiring Indian visa workers in the U.S. who had lost their jobs at major tech firms,” per news reports. Lakkad was reported as saying that some 70% of TCS’s employees in the U.S. were Americans, but that the company would like to reduce that number to 50% to offer opportunities to its staff in India.
The EEOC is tasked with enforcing laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.
According to Bloomberg News, these claims “have sparked concerns about the company’s approach to workforce management,” with many calling out the company for “favoring its Indian employees during a period of significant job cuts. The allegations also “underscore longstanding criticisms of outsourcing companies’ use of the H-1B visa program,” the publication said.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, a TCS spokesperson rejected these allegations as “meritless and misleading,” adding that the company has “a strong track record of being an equal opportunity employer in the US, embracing the highest levels of integrity and values in our operations.
The company’s response comes at a time when it is “also navigating financial uncertainty,” Bloomberg News reported. Last week, the company reportedly “delayed salary hikes for employees in India, as the company grapples with global challenges, including the impact of US tariffs,” the report added.
However, this is not the first time TCS has faced such allegations. Similar accusations were made in the UK, where a group of former TCS employees alleged age and nationality-based discrimination in an employment tribunal. The Guardian reported that these workers “also claimed to have faced unfavorable treatment during layoffs.”
In April 24, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) wrote to the EEOC’s commissioners and its then-chair, Charlotte Burrows, asking the agency to consider opening an investigation into TCS. He said residents of his state were among more than two dozen people who had submitted complaints to the agency. TCS’s actions “may have constituted a pattern-or-practice of discrimination impacting Americans that falls within the EEOC’s jurisdiction,” he wrote. “Additionally, it may also have been a potential misuse of US work visa programs designed to fill U.S. labor shortfalls.”