US lawmakers have asked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to explain why the company continues to file thousands of H-1B visa petitions even as it lays off American tech workers, according to Financial Express.
In a letter co-signed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, TCS, the only Indian firm among 10 major US employers addressed, has been asked to respond with detailed information by October 10, 2025.
The cross-industry inquiry, sent to the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Cognizant, Deloitte, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, Microsoft, TCS and Walmart, probes whether companies have displaced American workers with foreign hires, concealed H-1B recruitment advertising, or routed hiring through third-party staffing agencies. Bloomberg first reported the story.
Earlier this year, TCS announced that it would layoff around 12,000 employees across its global operations.
What the senators want to know
The letter highlights an apparent tension: large-scale layoffs of American tech staff have coincided with companies submitting substantial H-1B petitions. In TCS’s case, senators cite the company’s 2025 approvals to hire 5,505 H-1B employees, placing it among the nation’s largest employers of newly approved H-1B beneficiaries, alongside recent global workforce reductions that include U.S. office cuts.
Specific questions directed at TCS include requests for data and explanations on topics such as:
- Why TCS is hiring H-1B workers while U.S. tech layoffs continue.
- Whether TCS makes a good-faith effort to recruit Americans before filing H-1B petitions.
- Whether H-1B hiring advertisements are listed separately or hidden from general hiring notices.
- Whether any American employees were displaced by H-1B hires.
- Salary and benefits parity between H-1B hires and American workers with comparable qualifications.
- How many H-1B hires were made at “level one” wages and how many remain on those wages.
- Use of contractors or staffing firms in placing H-1B employees at TCS.
- The number of H-1B workers directly employed and paid by TCS versus those outsourced or paid by third parties.
The senators also note an ongoing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation into allegations that TCS fired older American workers in favor of newly hired H-1B employees.
Broader crackdown on H-1B practices
The letters reflect growing scrutiny of the H-1B program and broader concerns about whether US employers prioritize foreign labor over domestic talent following layoffs and hiring freezes. Lawmakers highlighted rising unemployment among tech workers and recent large layoffs, including recent high-profile reductions across the sector and among recent STEM graduates.
TCS has been given until October 10, 2025 to provide responses and supporting data. The company has not yet publicly responded to the letter in full.
Why this matters
The inquiry raises policy and reputational risks for global IT services firms. For TCS, one of the world’s largest IT services vendors with significant presence in the US, the questioning compounds regulatory and public-relations challenges at a sensitive time: simultaneous workforce reductions, high volumes of H-1B approvals, and a pending EEOC probe.
For US policymakers, the questions aim to determine whether the H-1B program is being used appropriately to fill genuine specialized talent shortages or whether some hiring practices undermine opportunities for domestic workers.
