Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is not considering any layoffs as it believes in grooming talent for a long career after hiring an employee, a top executive has said.
The country’s largest information technology services exporter is also looking to hire startup employees who have lost their jobs, news agency PTI quoted its Chief Human Resource Officer Milind Lakkar as saying.
There have been comments among IT companies, including global big tech giants, who are laying off people for various reasons.
“We don’t do that (layoffs), we believe in honing talent in the company… (there) will be no layoffs,” Lakkar said.
He added that many companies are forced to take such a step because they have hired more than they want to, while a “cautious” TCS believes that once a staff member joins, So it is the responsibility of the company to make them productive and get value.
Lakkar said that in cases where it finds a gap between the required skill set and the one possessed by an employee, it focuses on training by giving more time to the employee.
He said the company, which employs over 6 lakh people, would announce a hike which would be similar to that of earlier years.
Lakkad said that with startups laying off people, especially in sectors like education technology, TCS would be looking to hire such affected workers.
Specifically, it is looking for talent in user experience design, artificial intelligence, multiple aspects of cloud and having product experience, Lakkad said.
Asked whether TCS would review its stock option schemes, given that startups attract a lot of talent on the basis of such offers, Lakkad said he continues to evaluate this aspect as he feels that loyalty and performance both play important roles.
To a question whether the decline in total headcount by over 2,000 employees in the December quarter was a one-off, Lakkad refused to specify whether there would be an increase in the March quarter or a continuation with the decline.
He pointed out that during the last year, it hired more than 2 lakh people, including 1.19 lakh trainees, who are still joining billable projects and hence, there has been a decline in fresh recruitments.
Over the next few quarters, the company does not see “significant additions” from a net employees perspective, Lakkad said, pointing out that it is now reaping the benefits of its past investments.
Lakkad said that this will increase the overall utilization number before it starts going down as it expects to hire over 40,000 trainees in FY24.
Lakkad said the company is also open to hiring Indian expatriates in the US who have lost their jobs with tech majors and are on the verge of being forced to return home as per visa conditions.
Currently, 70 per cent of its US employees are American, Lakkad said, adding that it is looking to reduce the number to 50 per cent as it seeks to provide global opportunities to its employees in India.
Lakkar said that at present, around 40 per cent employees work from offices thrice a week and 60 per cent commute twice a week.
“I hope this number (of people working from offices) will increase. This will increase significantly by Q2 FY2024, we will decide the way forward.”
Tech companies around the world have resorted to layoffs in the last few months. Dismissals include letting go of employees by the thousands and eliminating entire teams. According to latest data from layoffs.fyi, around 332 tech companies have laid off 1,00,746 employees in 2023 so far.
(With PTI inputs)
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