TCS adds over 9,200 employees in fastest hiring quarter in nearly four years

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) added 9,279 employees during the June quarter, taking its total workforce to 593,798, even as the company continues to caution that artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape hiring across the IT services industry.

The country's largest IT services exporter reported a last twelve-month (LTM) attrition rate of 13.6% in its IT services business, reflecting relatively stable employee retention amid a challenging demand environment.

Commenting on the company's people strategy, Chief Human Resources Officer Sudeep Kunnumal said TCS completed annual salary increments for associates globally during the quarter while also aligning salary structures with the requirements of India's new Labour Code.

"We continue to invest in AI infrastructure and next-generation skill development platforms to enable our people to be future-ready, while fostering a workplace where every associate feels safe, valued, trusted and empowered to grow," Kunnumal said.

The increase in headcount comes barely a month after TCS Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the company would no longer recruit at the scale seen in previous years as AI agents increasingly take over routine software development and business processes.

Speaking at the company's Annual General Meeting, Chandrasekaran had said the shift would extend across the broader IT services industry, with AI handling parts of the work currently performed by humans. However, he clarified that TCS had no plans for workforce downsizing, stressing that AI would create new opportunities even as it changed the nature of hiring.

He also said TCS could have as many AI agents as human employees within the next three years, underscoring the company's long-term AI strategy.

The workforce update accompanied TCS' June-quarter earnings, where the company reported revenue of ₹72,275 crore, up 2.2% sequentially, while constant currency revenue grew 0.4%, ahead of CNBC-TV18's estimate of 0.15%.

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Net profit came in at ₹13,349 crore, marginally below Street expectations and down 2.7% quarter-on-quarter, while EBIT margin moderated to 24% from 25.3% in the previous quarter. The board also declared an interim dividend of ₹12 per share.

Ahead of the results, TCS shares closed marginally higher at ₹2,059 on the NSE.