More than half of TCS' 6 lakh employees are now AI skilled, CEO calls it one of the largest AI-ready workforces

K Krithivasan, CEO and MD, TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has doubled the number of its employees trained on artificial intelligence (AI) skills as of the fourth quarter ended March 31. TCS has built one of the largest and most Al-ready workforces in the world, CEO and MD K Krithivasan said, summing up the country’s largest software exporter’s financial year gone by.

As of the end of Q4FY24, TCS has a generative AI deal pipeline worth $900 million and has trained around 350,000 employees in AI skills.

“Your efforts in learning and skilling yourselves on this front have led to TCS building one of the largest and most Al-ready workforces in the world. This is another tribute to the culture of engineering we have at TCS, and I am eager to see it grow from strength to strength,” Krithivasan said in an internal email to employees accessed by Moneycontrol.

TCS is currently working on over 200 engagements in GenAl with clients and the company foresees a promising pipeline of future work across all industries, he added.

He shared that the company remains close to the clients advancing their digital transformation journeys and helping them make early forays into experimenting with the value that advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide.

TCS has been training employees in foundational AI skills, to enable them to support clients work in AI-integrated projects involving enhancing customer experience, streamlining and simplifying the contract review process including identification and validation of clauses, to name a few.

As Krithivasan nears the completion of a year of his taking over the CEO role, deliberating the company’s future, he told employees, “At the recently concluded TCS Blitz in Abu Dhabi, we deliberated and brainstormed on how to Refresh, Realign and Reinvent our company for the future.”

“There are many initiatives we are taking up to revitalize our strengths, address our gaps and capture new business opportunities. I thank you for your steadfast support and efforts, as we shape the future of our company together,” he added.

Return to office

Krithivasan also highlighted Q4 saw the has seen most of the employees “return to the workplace, creating shared experiences, nurturing greater learning, collaboration, and camaraderie.”

“As we build on this momentum, I have no doubt that together we will unlock many new opportunities,” he said.

To be sure, TCS had ended hybrid work model from October 1, 2023, mandating employees to work from office five days a week. During an interview with Moneycontrol in January, Krithivasan had said that almost 65 percent of its associates are going to the office 3-5 days a week, just a quarter after this policy was implemented.

COO N. G. Subramaniam retiring

TCS veteran Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, N. G. Subramaniam (fondly known as NGS), will be retiring from the company in May, after more than four decades of leading the organisation across many key roles.

TCS will not appoint a replace for Subramaniam, instead the duties will be distributed among the top leadership.

Taking a note of the same, Krithivasan said: “Many of us, including myself, have benefited from his mentorship or have served in his team and the units he nurtured. His contributions to the journey of our organization are immeasurable and on behalf of every TCSes, I thank him from my heart and wish him the very best as he embarks on the next chapter of his life.”

“One of many values that NGS leaves with us, to carry forth, is the TCS culture of relentless client centricity,” he added.