Here's irresponsible communication to its employees and stakeholders by TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) top management.
"...There have been many unsubstantiated reports in the media and on the web about job losses in TCS and delays in joining. I would like to reiterate that we continue to hire people. For the last 40 years, we have been building this institution, investing in training people and nurturing them irrespective of the external scenario, we shall continue to do so...BLA..BLA..BLA"
- S.Ramadorai, CEO & MD, on Oct 22, 2008 boasting about "firing and hiring" strategies while announcing Q2 Results.
3 months later:
...The operating units have been requested to raise the performance bar and utilise resources in the most effective manner. The process for undertaking this is a detailed one and will result in some involuntary attrition. The company is helping these employees with outplacement, counseling, alternate positions in subsidiaries if available or a fair exit..."
- Ajoy Mukherjee, VP & Head of HR, on Mar 06, 2009, after realising the strange truths of global business situation.
What surprises me is Mr. Ramadorai has been in IT business for 35 years! From programming on old Burroughs machine in early '70s to establishing TCS's presence in the US, he had the oppurtunity to experience a lot. A treasure of experience in fact. What made a man of his stature to give falsified hopes to his employees by telling them that he will not fire people, his company is 40 year old, his company is BLA-BLA-BLA, and just 3 months later asking his HR guy to fire people?
3 months is too short a time for making such contradictory statements to an employee strength of 130,000 plus. Recruit people as if you are in the business of "breaking recruitment world-records" and then ask them to leave by saying "performance issues" when business is not good.
If you say that this recession is uniquely strange, let me bring the facts related to TCS... TCS has more than 43% revenue dependence on BFS (Banking and Fin. Services) domain and more than 50% revenue dependence on US Geography which makes it a vulnerable company (like many of its peers, of course). But the fact is, the biggest surprises of the current economic crisis - surprises like the collapse of Lehmann, Fannie May and Freddie Mac, Wachovia, AIG and the rest - was already over when TCS CEO made the irresponsible comments in Oct 2008. No surprising developments happened between 22 Oct 2008 and 06 Mar 2009, except that clients shrunk their IT spending. Even when I write this blog, the US unemployment levels and GDP decline hasn't reached a level where it was during the economic crisis in 1981-'82. Why was the TCS management so blind to see this and make stray comments about recruitment?
