Moonlighting could Topple IT industry, says TCS COO

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Top executives of India’s IT services companies have been outspoken in their criticism of moonlighting.

Taking up dual employment – and both Wipro and Infosys have recently sacked employees found to be working second jobs.

COO of TCS, tells us the practice is not only unethical but presents an existential crisis to the $227-billion IT industry.

In an interview to ET, Subramaniam said the IT industry could fall apart due to moonlighting – which he termed “unethical”.

Short-term projects (3-6 months) that give some savings or improve customer experience are fine, but multi-year transformation programmes etc will go through a vetting cycle.

The whole industry could fall apart due to this. Businesses are built based on integrity and certain values.

As India’s $227-billion IT industry grapples with the issue of moonlighting, TCS is planning a platform for internal “gigs” for its over 600,000 employees.

The platform, which is in the initial stages, could be expanded down the road to include the external workforce as well.