Senate Demands TCS Explain H 1B Hiring Amid Layoffs

In a striking move, U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Richard Durbin have formally challenged Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) over its hiring and layoff practices in America particularly in relation to the H1B visa program. Their open letter, dated September 24, 2025, is addressed to TCS CEO Krithi Krithivasan and calls for responses by October 10 on nine pointed questions.

At the core of the senators’ concern is the apparent contradiction between TCS’s global layoff plans and its simultaneous hiring of H-1B visa workers in the U.S. While TCS has announced cuts of over 12,000 employees worldwide which include American staff data shows that it also secured approval to hire 5,505 H1B employees in fiscal 2025, making it one of the largest recipients of new H1B slots. The senators argue that this raises serious doubts about the company’s hiring rationale given high unemployment in the U.S. tech sector.

The letter from the senators enumerates detailed questions. They demand disclosure on whether TCS made a “good faith effort” to hire American tech workers before filing H1B petitions, whether it has displaced U.S. employees with visa holders, and how salaries and benefits compare between the two groups. They also ask whether TCS separates H1B job postings from general hiring advertisements, whether it outsources recruitment via contractors, and how many of the visa-based workers remain on low “level one” wages. Notably, TCS is already under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over allegations that older American employees were replaced by younger South-Asian H1B workers.

In their statements, Senators Grassley and Durbin emphasize that the current tech unemployment rate especially among recent STEM graduates runs higher than general national averages. They urge that companies benefiting from H1B visas must operate transparently, especially if layoffs are being executed simultaneously.

TCS holds a unique position in this inquiry as the sole Indian company among ten major U.S. connected firms (including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google) to receive such a letter. Its status as a leading employer of foreign professionals in the U.S. complicates its response.

As tension builds, the tech and policy world will keenly watch TCS’s reply. Its answers could influence not just its reputation, but also shape policy debates around H1B usage, protection of American workers, and balance between global talent mobility and domestic employment.