Chandrasekaran said, “Whenever there is a violation of ethical conduct by any employee, it pains us. It pains me and all the leaders very deeply. And we take it extremely seriously. We deal with it very strongly.”
Tata Sons Ltd chairman, N Chandrasekaran, expressed deep concern over the recent discovery of jobs scam at Indian IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Chandrasekaran, who also serves as the chairman of TCS, reassured shareholders during the company’s 28th Annual General Meeting that strict measures would be implemented to address the issue and prevent its recurrence.
Chandrasekaran said, “Whenever there is a violation of ethical conduct by any employee, it pains us. It pains me and all the leaders very deeply. And we take it extremely seriously. We deal with it very strongly.”
The chairman disclosed that TCS had received two whistleblower complaints in late February and March, which prompted investigations. The complaints concerned favoritism and the receipt of certain favors in the recruitment of business associates or contract workers. The incidents occurred in both the United States and India. While six employees had been dismissed and six staffing firms blacklisted, an ongoing probe is underway against three other employees.
“We received two whistleblower complaints in end-February and March. And both the whistleblower complaints were investigated. The complaints were about certain favouritism being done and certain favours being received in the recruitment of BAs (business associates or contract workers),” he said.
Chandrasekaran’s comments marked the first response from a Tata group leader since the development came to light earlier this week.
On Monday, Mint reported that E.S. Chakravarthy, the former head of TCS’s Resource Management Group (RMG), and four other employees were involved in a bribe for jobs scam at the IT company. TCS has appointed Sivakumar Viswanathan, a TCS executive with 30 years of experience, as the new head of RMG.
The company’s new CEO K Krithivasan took over the reins of the organization on June 1, after former CEO Rajesh Gopinathan exited.
