TCS delays onboarding of lateral recruits by up to 3 months amid project delays

Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has deferred the onboarding of lateral recruits by three months due to a series of project delays and budget constraints, according to reports. This decision impacts over 200 new recruits who were hired between January and April 2023, across several cities, including Bengaluru, Pune, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Delhi-NCR, and Indore.

These lateral recruits, having 1.8 to 15 years of experience, were facing a delay of one month in their onboarding process. However, these candidates have now experienced further postponements with their joining dates rescheduled multiple times and finally being deferred till October. This unexpected setback has not been proactively communicated to the impacted recruits, causing frustration and uncertainty among them.

Consequently, some recruits are considering alternative job opportunities, according to reports.

Many freshers and other new recruits have also claimed that TCS is delaying their onboarding by up to eight months. Reports state that many such job claimants have connected with each other. TCS has so far maintained that the joining dates would be determined based on the company's business requirements. 

Other IT firms like Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Capgemini, Accenture, Mphasis, Mindtree, and Deloitte, have also reportedly been delaying the onboarding of freshers.

Economic challenges plaguing IT sector

The postponement comes amid macroeconomic challenges currently faced by the Indian IT sector. Factors such as reduced tech budgets and delay in news projects  by clients are causing disruptions in hiring processes. These conditions have led TCS to delay the onboarding of new lateral recruits.

TCS amid multiple controversies

The current situation comes at an uncertain time for TCS, as it is also dealing with a separate bribery scandal. Actions have been taken against several employees and staffing firms following whistleblower complaints about the appointments of business associates and contractual workers.