Cyrus Mistry's ouster: Communication gap leaves Tata employees jittery

MUMBAI: A message doing the rounds on social media and WhatsApp, jokingly attributed to Cyrus Mistry, reads, "Kitne bhi bade ho jao, job security toh sirf government job mein hi hai!"

This joke adds to the discomfort of Tata employees who till now believed that a Tata job was as "secure" as a government job. The unceremonious dismissal of Mistry as the chairman of Tata Sons has left executives across centres shell-shocked as 'hire-and-fire' was never a part of the Tata group's culture.

Also Read: Cyrus Mistry's letter to Tata Sons board

"This is not the Tata way of doing things. If this can happen to a chairman, it's safe to assume it can happen again, at any level," a senior executive from Jamshedpur, who has worked with the group for over 20 years told ET.




Jamshedpur, named after Tata founder Jamsetji Tata, was the power centre until the 1990s. But things changed as the group diversified and expanded under Ratan Tata. Bombay House emerged as the locus of power for the $100-billion salt-to-software conglomerate. Tata old timers often share anecdotes about the growing distance between 'Bombay' and Jamshedpur and Monday's announcement perhaps made the gap all the bigger.

"We did not receive any formal intimation. A news link from ET broke the news to most of us here and then forwards from colleagues started. It did make us wonder why some colleagues in Tata Sons had received the email signed by Ratan Tata and we didn't," another executive from Jamshedpur said.

The mood of executives at Jamshedpur is resonated by counterparts in other centres too. ET spoke to a cross section of executives at various Tata companies across the country and disbelief and dismay seemed to be a common theme. While they were comforted by the fact that Ratan Tata is back to fix things, the lack of communication is making them jittery.

"First, we thought someone had hacked the website and put the release up. This is just unbelievable for the Tatas. There has been no official communication other than the press releases even to us," a Tata executive said.

A Tata Motors executive from its Pune plant said people are still shocked. "None of us know why and how everything transpired, all that we know is only through papers and TV channels. Mistry had a vision and things were playing out nicely for the company. With his exit, there is sense of uncertainty now. One assuring factor is that the MD Guenter Butschek has begun on a very strong note and he will able to steer the plans," said the executive.

Tatas have seen power struggle in the past as well. In the early 90s, a nuanced battle played out between the new management team led by JJ Irani and Ratan Tata on one side and Russi Mody on the other. Mody was then chairman of Tata Steel but had headed human resources earlier and had a better connect with the people on the shop floor and enjoyed a Godlike stature in the town.

Meanwhile, with social media fuelling the organisation grapevine and lack of communication from the management, rumours are flying thick and fast, sometimes bordering on the bizarre.

"I heard someone say that the institutional bondholders had asked Ratan Tata to step in. No one knows, so everyone is guessing. But we all feel very bad that this happening. If this goes to court and there is a fight there, then this would be very embarrassing. This is the Tata Group, not Reliance," a second executive said.

At TCS, some mid-level executives have taken the matter several steps further.

"People are saying that Chandra could become chairman. Then who will become the CEO here. You can't be both," an executive said.

(Additional reporting from Jochelle Mendonca & Ketan Thakkar)