Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) HR Head Sudeep Kunnumal recently addressed concerns over job cuts and other workforce-related developments during the company's
Q2 earnings call earlier this month. Responding to questions about declining headcount, Kunnumal emphasised that the company is not pursuing any fixed target for layoffs.
No Targeted Job Cuts, Ongoing Evaluations
According to a report in TOI, when asked by Surendra Goyal, an analyst from Citi, about the 3% headcount reduction, approximately 20,000 employees, Kunnumal clarified that the decline was a result of both voluntary and involuntary attrition.
“So almost -- see, the 20,000 head count is a factor of voluntary and involuntary attrition. So you should see that. But as we announced, against the 2 percentage, we have midway, so we have done approximately 1 percentage of it. And like what Krithi just mentioned, we don't have a target,” said Kunnumal.
He added that TCS will continue to assess its workforce, particularly in light of recent investments in training and development:
“We are not chasing a target. We'll continue to evaluate everyone after all the investment in learning and development that we've done…..”
More Involuntary Attrition Could Happen
Goyal sought further clarification on whether involuntary attrition would stop at the 1% mark. Kunnumal responded: “No, no, I didn't say that. See, we estimate it to be 2%."
"We are currently at 1%, and we will continue to evaluate people whom we can redeploy -- whom we are not redeploy, and those are the people that we will release," he added.
Minimal Impact from H-1B Policy Changes
Kunnumal also addressed the new H-1B visa rule introduced by the US administration, which includes an annual fee of $100,000 on H-1B applications starting September 21. He noted that TCS has already taken steps to localise its US workforce, minimising dependency on H-1B visas.
“...on H1B, we have significantly localized our workforce in the U.S. approximately just about 500 associates have traveled to the U.S. on H1B. We believe our business model will be able to adapt quickly to any changes in immigration policy,” he said.
In a positive development, TCS announced a wage hike that went into effect on September 1. According to Kunnumal, the hike covers more than 80% of the company’s workforce.
