India’s largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), saw its headcount decline by 19,755 on a net basis in the second quarter of FY26, a period when the company announced plans to let go of about 2 percent of its workforce, or roughly 12,000 employees.
With the latest increase, TCS now employs 5,93,314 people, the company said on October 9 in its earnings release.
The Tata group company had added 5,090 employees sequentially in the June period.
Consequently, the Mumbai-headquartered IT firm recorded restructuring expenses worth of Rs 1,135 crore in the September quarter as it moved ahead with its plan to trim its workforce and realign roles across the organisation.
Naturally, the headcount was down even in a quarter when attrition fell to 13.3 percent, from the previous quarter’s 13.8 percent.
The exceptional item dragged the company’s reported consolidated net profit to Rs 12,075 crore, according to the company’s exchange filing on October 9.
Nevertheless, the company said its employees have, year-to-date, clocked in over 3.3 crore hours in learning, over 26 lakh competencies acquired, and almost 1.6 lakh employees are now proficient in artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML).
Meanwhile, the company's net profit was slightly below Street estimates. A CNBC-TV18 poll had pegged the IT major’s profit at Rs 12,528.3 crore and revenue at Rs 65,114 crore. TCS' revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 65,799 crore, marking a 3.7 percent sequential rise and 0.8 percent growth in constant currency terms.
Operating margin expanded by 70 basis points to 25.2 percent, while net margin improved to 19.6 percent.
The Mumbai-based firm’s headcount fell for the first time in 19 years in FY24, marking a shift since the company listed on the bourses in 2004. The IT behemoth had added 22,600 employees in FY23.
The reversal is even steeper if one were to look at FY22 numbers, when it added a whopping net 1.03 lakh employees.
“I am honoured to take over this responsibility as we chart our path to becoming the world’s largest AI-led technology services company. I look forward to working with our employees and all stakeholders as we pursue this exciting vision," the incoming Chief Human Resources Officer, K Sudeep, was quoted as saying in the release.
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