Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) has ordered a statewide manpower rationalisation exercise at its retail liquor outlets, requiring district managers to move surplus employees to shops facing staff shortages and preventing employees from insisting on remaining at preferred locations.
The exercise will cover salesmen and assistant salesmen at Tasmac retail shops in all 38 districts. The corporation has directed its senior regional managers and district managers to implement the Transfer and Posting Policy for Liquor Retail Vending Shop Personnel, 2026, which was approved at Tasmac’s 224th board meeting on September 29 and came into effect on November 1.
Under the policy, outlets will be classified as A, B or C based on their average daily sales in September 2026. The classification will determine the prescribed minimum manpower for each shop. District managers must assess the available workforce, identify outlets with excess staff and vacancies, and prepare redeployment lists.
“The classification list issued by headquarters will be final and cannot be altered by regional or district officials,” a Tasmac official said, according to the Times of India. The policy gives district managers responsibility for deciding redeployment, with their decisions described as final under the circular.
Employees who had completed three years at a shop as of November 1 will be considered for transfer. Seniority will be determined by the date of joining, followed by date of birth and higher educational qualification. Leave, suspension and breaks in attendance will also count towards the tenure period, the report said.
Employees who have completed the prescribed tenure cannot continue at the same shop without prior approval from the senior regional manager under specified circumstances. Tasmac will also bring back employees currently working in district depots and other locations outside retail outlets and post them to shops facing shortages.
The timetable requires district managers to complete the initial exercise during the first fortnight of November. Shop classification and manpower assessment must be completed by November 15, while transfer orders and joining at new locations must be finished by November 25. Compliance reports are due from district managers by November 28, with consolidated reports reaching Tasmac headquarters before November 30.
The reports must include category-wise manpower requirements and availability, details of redeployments, employees allowed to continue at existing shops with special approval, and outlets that remain below the prescribed minimum staffing level, along with the reasons for the shortfall.
