Tata spat escalates as Cyrus Mistry ousted as chair of Tata Consultancy Services following leaked email and sudden sacking scandal
The row between Indian conglomerate Tata and the ousted former chairman of its parent group has resurfaced after the company removed him from the helm of another Tata firm.
Cyrus Mistry, who was sacked suddenly as the head of Tata Group's holding company Tata Sons last month, has been fired from the helm of the behemoth's cash cow, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), after the firm received a letter from Tata Sons nominating director Ishaat Hussain as chair.
"In view of this, Mistry has ceased to be the chairman of the board of directors of the company, and Hussain is the new chairman of the company," TCS said, adding Hussain will remain TCS chairman until a replacement is named.
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Tata is now thought to be looking to wrest control of other key companies still chaired by Mistry, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals.
Tata Sons owns around a 30 per cent stake in these companies. This will make it more difficult to remove Mistry at these groups than at TCS, in which it owns a more than 70 per cent stake.
Read more: Tata Sons hits back at leaked email from ousted chairman
A leaked email sent to Tata Sons by Mistry after he was sacked claimed Tata Steel Europe is among five unprofitable businesses that could prompt $18bn (£14.7bn) worth of writedowns at the parent company.
He also claims he was made a “lame duck chairman” at the firm and called his abrupt departure invalid and illegal.
Three Tata executives quit soon after, all members of an executive council disbanded after the group dismissed Mistry. It was meant to be creating long-term value for stakeholders and boosting returns on investment.