Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) does not plan any further workforce downsizing despite accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Tuesday, seeking to reassure shareholders amid concerns over the impact of AI on jobs.
Speaking at the company’s 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM), Chandrasekaran clarified that the IT services giant has no plans for additional layoffs following last year’s workforce restructuring that resulted in the elimination of around 12,000 jobs.
“There is no downsizing of staff planned,” Chandrasekaran said while responding to shareholder queries on the company’s future hiring and workforce strategy.
However, he indicated that hiring growth may moderate as AI becomes increasingly embedded in business operations and software development processes. Despite this shift, TCS will continue to compete for top talent as it navigates an AI-driven transformation.
The chairman outlined a future workplace where human employees and AI agents work side by side. “We still need to attract the best talent,” he said, adding that the company envisions a workforce model in which AI systems complement rather than replace human workers.
Chandrasekaran described artificial intelligence as the most significant opportunity the IT industry has witnessed so far, surpassing previous technology waves in terms of both scale and impact.
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“AI is the most significant opportunity yet for TCS and the IT industry,” he said.
According to him, businesses across industries are increasingly focusing on resilience, productivity and operational efficiency amid global economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges. AI is emerging as a key enabler of those objectives.
While AI is already reducing the amount of effort required in software development and maintenance, Chandrasekaran stressed that its impact goes far beyond automation. He compared the technology’s transformative potential to the rise of cloud computing, which fundamentally changed how enterprises use technology.
“AI does more than reducing the effort,” he said, noting that the technology is becoming a foundational layer for redesigning workflows, business processes and decision-making across organisations.
The company’s AI business has already gained considerable scale. TCS said revenue linked to AI-related work is now close to $2.5 billion and has grown at a compound annual growth rate of more than 22% over the past four years.
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director K Krithivasan said TCS has delivered more than 5,000 AI engagements across industries. Despite the growing momentum, he believes the market remains at an early stage of adoption.
“95% of enterprises are in the early stage of the journey,” Krithivasan said, describing AI as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for technology services companies.
TCS is currently helping clients build AI platforms and integrate AI capabilities into core business processes. The company has also launched sovereign AI infrastructure for India and is working on projects that combine AI systems with human expertise in manufacturing and industrial environments.
Looking ahead, Chandrasekaran predicted that AI agents would become commonplace across enterprises and could eventually match the scale of the company’s human workforce.
“TCS might have equal number of AI workers as there are physical workers in three years,” he said.
The comments come at a time when TCS is balancing investments in emerging technologies with financial performance. The company reported FY26 revenue growth of 4.6%, while operating and net profit margins reached their highest levels in four years, highlighting the growing role of productivity-enhancing technologies in its business model.
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