Former Tata Group boss removed from another post amid power struggle
New Delhi - Indian software giant Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) Thursday replaced Cyrus Mistry as chairman of its board of directors as the battle in one of India's top industrial groups escalated.
Tata Sons Limited, the holding company of TCS with over 73 per cent equity in the company, announced in a statement that Tata Group veteran Ishaat Hussain would be interim chairman with immediate effect.
Tata Sons has also called a shareholder meeting to remove Mistry as director of TCS, which is India's top software services firm in revenue terms.
The tussle in the Tata Group, which has over a 100 companies spread across the world, was set off by the removal of Mistry as group chairman in October, replacing him with former chairman Ratan Tata.
Mumbai-headquarted Tata Sons, in a statement released Thursday, set out its first explanation of the surprise change.
It said the move was due to Mistry's failure in the four years since his appointment to implement changes he had envisioned and consistent losses made by group companies.
It accused Mistry of attempting to take control of the group through devious means by dismantling the past structure which had allowed group companies to keep close contact with Tata Sons.
Mistry's removal may be complicated by the fact that his family company, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, holds an 18.5-per-cent stake in Tata Sons.
