TCS full-year net headcount declines first time in 19 years; ends FY24 with 601,546 employees

On a sequential basis, TCS' headcount declined by 1,759 employees in January-March.

Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) headcount declined for the first time in 19 years, since the company was listed in 2004.

India’s largest information technology services company, on April 12, revealed its headcount declined by 13,249 employees year-on-year during the financial year 2023-24.

This is a reversal from the previous financial year when the metric increased by 22,600. The reversal is even steeper if one were to look at FY22 numbers when the Mumbai-headquartered firm had added a whopping net 1.03 lakh employees.

On a sequential basis, TCS' headcount declined by 1,759 employees in January-March.

With the latest fall in headcount, the headcount at TCS stands at 6,01,546 as of March 31, 2024.

This is also the third consecutive quarter when the headcount declined. In Q3, the number of employees dropped by 5,680 employees quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). The company witnessed a reduction of 6,333 employees on a net basis in Q2. In Q1FY24, the Mumbai-based services exporter had  increased the metric by 523 and by 821 in Q4FY23.

TCS reported a 9% rise in net profit at Rs 12,434 crore for the fourth quarter of FY24 as against Rs 11,392 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 3.5% to Rs 61,237 crore in the three months ended March 31. While the company managed to beat estimates for net profit, it missed in terms of revenue estimates.

The company had net added 40,185 employees in FY21, 24,179 in FY20 and 29,287 in FY19.

Also read: TCS reports all-time high order book $13.2 billion in Q4

Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said, “The reduced

attrition at 12.5%, enthusiastic response to our campus hiring, increased customer visits and employees returning to the office have resulted in great vibrancy in our delivery centres and elevated morale of our associates.”

Attrition for the quarter fell to 12.5 percent, continuing its downward trend from last quarter’s 13.3 percent. The attrition rate has been falling from its peak as the job market has cooled down after the pandemic-led digital boom had given rise to aggressive hiring by companies and startups.

TCS and other IT companies have not been backfilling attrition as they have enough bench strength to cater to the present demand. The IT sector has been witnessing weak demand due to uncertain macroeconomic conditions and falling discretionary spending.

Also read: TCS announces increments, top performers get double-digit hikes