TCS bolsters presence in Texas and Iowa through Transamerica contract
Indian consulting giant Tata Consultancy Services has won an outsourcing contract for the entire administration of US-based Transamerica’s insurance and annuities practice. The contract is worth over $2 billion and will affect more than 2,000 Transamerica employees, particularly in Texas and Iowa.
Business is flourishing at TCS, and while the firm’s recent success has been largely driven by its work in the IT domain, a recent contract with US-based insurance company Transamerica demonstrates that the growth is multifaceted.
Transamerica is a San-Francisco-based financial services firm and a subsidiary of global financial company AEGON. The firm employs nearly 30,000 people globally and offers services in retirement solutions, mutual funds, employee benefits, exchange-traded funds, annuities, and insurance.
In a contract worth $2.5 billion, administration for the last two verticals will now be taken over by TCS, which includes the management of over 10 million policies, and will affect 2,200 Transamerica employees. Nevertheless, rather than losing their jobs, the new employees will simply be reallocated to TCS – although the new terms of employment remain undisclosed, particularly with respect to the change in compensation and benefits.
Aside from protecting jobs, the decision to rebadge the employees will also be beneficial for TCS, particularly in light of the complications that have recently arisen in obtaining work visas for foreign workers under the Trump administration. Fellow IT giant Infosys has also recently declared intentions to employ and train as many as 10,000 local employees to sidestep the extra barriers.
Iowa and Texas
Two locales where the contract will most have an impact are Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Plano, Texas. In Cedar Rapids, nearly 900 Transamerica employees will now transition to TCS, while continuing to work from the same commercial campus in the region.
The head of TCS’s HR Workforce, Balaji Ganapathy stated that the Cedar Rapids employees would be offered “comparable pay” under the new contract, while a spokesperson for Transamerica added, “It is an offer. At that point, the employees can choose to accept or decline the offer, but it is an offer.”
TCS’ move to protect the local jobs has positioned it as one of Cedar Rapids’ largest employers, and earned recognition from the city’s Mayor Brad Hart, who said, “This is Day 1 of what we expect to be a long and profitable relationship between TCS and Cedar Rapids.”
The city hopes that TCS’ presence will influence more than just the operations of Transmerica. As elucidated by Cedar Rapids Economic Development Manager Jasmine Almoayed, “This partnership brings in this new company into our city. Right now, they’re working with Transamerica, but the idea we would like to see is to work with them so we can continue to see growth. They’ll be established here, so they can take on new clients, other people to work with, and hopefully increase their employment base in Cedar Rapids.”
In Texas, TCS already has an extensive presence, currently employing 3,500 professionals in the state – a number that will now increase by 200 with the addition of Transamerica’s local operations in Plano.
Commenting on the Texas operations, TCS Global Head of Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance Suresh Muthuswami said, “TCS has consistently been a leading industry employer in the U.S., focused on attracting the best talent. We are proud to welcome more than 200 Texans to our workforce and look forward to partnering with the state, city, and local organisations to improve economic and social outcomes for the community.”
