General Motors to transfer 1,300 staff to TCS for global vehicle engineering programme

American auto giant General Motors (GM) and Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have announced a new partnership in future global vehicle engineering. This builds on the 16-year relationship between the two companies.

Under the terms of the agreement, TCS will acquire certain assets at the GM Technical Center-India (GMTC-I), Bengaluru, and will partner with GM, supporting its global vehicle programmes with engineering design services over the next 5 years. Over 1,300 employees of GMTC-I will move to TCS, including teams focused on propulsion systems, vehicle engineering, controls development, testing, creative design and special projects.

“Next generation automotive R&D is a key focus area for TCS, given the criticality of product innovation and connectedness in the Business 4.0 world. This new partnership with General Motors is a testament to our willingness to invest in the relationship for longer term,” said Susheel Vasudevan, global head, manufacturing business group, TCS.

The transaction and handover are expected to be completed by the end of September. Established in 2004 in Bengaluru, GMTC-I contributes to GM’s global programmes, across propulsion systems, vehicle engineering, controls development, testing, creative design and special projects. It houses a design studio and an engineering centre with state-of-the-art in-house electronics hardware and software testing and validation infrastructure.

GMTC-I vice president-engineering and operations, Brian McMurray, said that the design and engineering centre in Bengaluru had contributed to a number of innovations in GM’s global vehicle portfolio over many years.“As a result of our new partnership, the design and engineering teams in Bengaluru will continue to play an important role in GM’s core business. This partnership will make both companies stronger: GM will benefit from the scale and cross-sectoral knowledge of TCS, while TCS will benefit from the influx of world-class engineering talent,” he added.

TATA Consultancy Services ( TCS )