Indian moonlighter Soham Parekh reacts to hiring freeze at TCS: ‘Outwork the system'
Alongside the layoffs, TCS has reportedly halted senior-level hiring and suspended annual salary hikes company-wide, as per The Economic Times.
Reacting to the news, tech professional Soham Parekh, infamous for allegedly juggling multiple startup jobs, weighed in with some tough love for fellow workers. In a post on X, he encouraged people to stop relying on companies for stability. 'Don't wait for handouts. Learn fast. Build harder,' he wrote, urging professionals to take charge of their own growth. 'Outwork the system. Outlearn the gatekeepers. Outbuild the giants,' he said in the post.
Don't wait for handouts. Learn fast. Build harder. Your skills are your leverage.
Outwork the system.
Outlearn the gatekeepers.
Outbuild the giants. https://t.co/fYUeSYTJCM
— Soham Parekh (@realsohamparekh) July 29, 2025
TCS has acknowledged that the ongoing job cuts are largely impacting employees in mid- and senior-level roles, adding that bringing in replacements for these positions isn't part of their current plan.
In a statement, the company said, 'Several reskilling and redeployment programs have been in progress. However, some associates will be released as their roles cannot be restructured to match future demands.'
Earlier this month, Parekh found himself at the center of a storm after allegations surfaced that he was juggling roles at multiple startups, simultaneously.
The issue caught public attention when Suhail Doshi, co-founder of Playground A and Mixpanel, accused Parekh on X of targeting Y Combinator-backed companies and inflating his resume with fabricated accomplishments.
Responding to the backlash, Parekh admitted to his mistakes, saying, 'I'm not proud of what I've done… But financial circumstances. No one really likes to work 140 hours a week, but I had to do it out of necessity.' He described his actions as a result of being in a 'dire' situation, rather than a deliberate attempt to deceive.
Many netizens reacted to the post in the comments. An individual wrote, 'I am 100% with you. This applies to students as well in higher secondary and college as much it applies to us who are working. We need learn how to build products and skills using AI. We have to be adaptive and robust.'
Another person commented, 'Interesting take… but true leverage comes from spotting unmet needs, then rapidly prototyping solutions, imo. Building alone isn't enough.'
A third user said, 'And learn what?? Please don't say AI ,its a very broad term or industry,please be specific. I am really curious to learn something that will be relevant in future.'
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