An India Today article, published on January 13, 2026, reported that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) would continue with employee terminations if needed, and had let go of approximately 30,000 employees in the preceding six months. Verification confirms that TCS has indeed experienced a significant net reduction in its workforce over the second and third quarters of the fiscal year 2026 (July-December 2025). In Q2 FY26 (July-September 2025), the company's headcount decreased by 19,755 employees. Subsequently, in Q3 FY26 (October-December 2025), a further reduction of 11,151 employees was reported. Combined, this totals a net headcount reduction of 30,906 employees, substantiating the 30,000 figure cited in the article for the six-month period. TCS has publicly stated that employee terminations are expected to continue into Q4 FY26, but without specific targets. This is part of a broader restructuring exercise initiated in July 2025, aimed at making the company 'future-ready,' enhancing productivity, and realigning with evolving business needs, particularly in areas like Artificial Intelligence. While TCS's official stance emphasizes workforce optimization, role rationalization, and addressing skill mismatches, and denies 'mass layoffs', unions like the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) and the Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) have alleged that many exits are effectively forced resignations, manipulated performance assessments, or prolonged 'benching,' disguised as voluntary attrition to circumvent labor laws. The headline's use of "firing" is an exaggeration, as TCS typically refers to 'terminations' or 'headcount reduction,' which includes both involuntary exits and voluntary attrition. However, the numerical claim regarding the reduction of 30,000 employees in six months (Q2 and Q3 FY26) is factually accurate as a net headcount change. Despite the workforce reduction, TCS has also emphasized its commitment to campus hiring and upskilling employees in advanced AI capabilities.