'I Joined TCS At ₹25,000 Monthly Salary In 2020 & Currently Earn ₹22,800': TCS Employee's Salary Drop Story Goes Viral

While employees are usually given appraisals every year, a software engineer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reportedly had a sort of opposite experience. His monthly salary has dropped from Rs. 25,000 rupees in 2020 to Rs. 22,800 in 2026. He attributes this to a lack of upskilling and poor performance ratings. The engineer spoke anonymously about his struggles in the IT sector

The unusual ordeal was shared by the TCS employee on Reddit, which has since gone viral on the Internet. The employee states that he started off his stint at TCS in 2020 as a Java developer. "I graduated from a tier 3 college and after joining TCS I started preparation for government jobs. Missed by few marks and didn't do any upskilling in this IT side. Years after years kept getting C to D bands and finally back in July 2025 was kept on PIP (Performance Improvement Plan)."

His starting salary was Rs. 25,000 per month. Soon after, he shifted focus to preparing for government jobs. He missed qualifying by a few marks each time. Years passed without upskilling in IT. He received consistent C to D bands in appraisals. In July 2025, TCS placed him on PIP. He panicked and prepared intensively for internal opportunities. He secured a new project without disclosing the PIP status. The PIP period ended without a resignation demand. However, TCS halted his appraisal process. This led to his current salary of Rs. 22,800.

Recent upskilling and job hunt struggles

In January 2026, he upskilled for a Java backend developer role. He now clears technical interviews after heavy preparation, but cannot seem to bag an offer letter. Yet, HR teams express suspicion over his salary slip. They often drop offer discussions. "Now after heavy preparation, whenever I somehow clear interviews HR shows suspicion at my salary slip and drops the offer discussion. My life is really getting disturbed because of this and I am losing hope to survive in IT," he said.

The TCS employee took to Reddit to ask for an explanation, but his post has gone viral for a multiude of reasons. Most of the commentators are interested in one question - 'I don't understand how your salary got decreased?' Another user explained that getting C and D bands at TCS results in a salary decrease.

When someone asked why he didn't take up the issue of salary decrease with HR, he responded, "I didn't want a fight with HR. I just needed money to get by. Now I am facing a blockage." Users even advised him to apply for startups and new companies, which may be willing to ignore his PIP and salary structure.