Tata Consultancy Services has confirmed it made over 25,000 fresher job offers in FY26 and will continue hiring fresh graduates in FY27, according to statements made during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on 10 April 2026. The announcement comes as CEO K Krithivasan pushed back sharply against the narrative that artificial intelligence drove TCS’s year-long restructuring.
What was said on the earnings call
“We are pleased to implement annual salary increases across all grades effective 1st April,” said Sudeep Kunnumal, Chief Human Resources Officer at TCS. “In Q4, we continued to invest in a future-ready workforce with strong additions across experienced talent and campus hires. Building an AI-first culture and equipping our people with AI-ready skills remained a key priority in FY26 and will continue into FY27.”
Kunnumal confirmed that FY27 hiring will focus on AI, data, enterprise solutions, software engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and digital engineering — and that over 750 professionals with deep advisory and consulting expertise were hired in FY26 alone. Around 2.7 lakh TCS employees now have advanced skills in AI and machine learning.
On layoffs, Krithivasan was direct: the ~12,000 role reductions in FY26 were driven by changes in how projects are executed, not by AI replacing workers. “The way projects are being executed has evolved, reducing the need for certain layers within delivery teams,” he told analysts. The restructuring was concentrated at middle and senior levels — a reshaping of where value sits in the delivery model, not a wholesale headcount reduction.
The numbers behind the story
TCS ended FY26 with 5,84,519 employees, adding 2,356 in Q4 — the first quarter of net headcount growth after two consecutive quarters of decline. The full-year drop was approximately 23,460. Net profit for Q4 rose 12.22% year-on-year to ₹13,718 crore. Total contract value for FY26 reached $40.7 billion, including three mega deals in Q4 alone.
Voluntary attrition edged up to 13.7% in Q4 from 13.5% a year earlier. Senior executive attrition rose to 16%, a figure Kunnumal acknowledged in analyst commentary, noting that mid- and senior-level employees are finding it harder to find suitable roles under the new operating model.
Why this matters for campus candidates
TCS remains one of India’s largest campus recruiters. Its 25,000 fresher offers in FY26 — made against the backdrop of one of the company’s most significant restructuring years — signal that entry-level intake has been partially insulated from the broader headcount correction. That said, IT sector fresher hiring overall has fallen sharply, from over six lakh in FY22 to an estimated 1.2 lakh in FY25, with FY26 flat. TCS’s continued campus commitment is notable within an otherwise constrained environment.
The company also signalled stronger business confidence through the timing of this year’s salary hike: in FY25, increments were delayed by five months to September 2025. Restoring the April cycle sends a clear message to its workforce and the market.
