TCS, HCLTech cut headcount in Q3

Both companies step up AI-focused hiring and skilling

- URVI MALVANIA & POULOMI CHETTERJEE

BOTH TATA CONSULTANCY Services and HCLTech reported a sequential decline in headcount in the December quarter, underscoring how the country's large IT services firms are recalibrating workforce structures.

At the end of the third quarter, TCS' global headcount stood at 582,163 employees, down 11,151 sequentially. HCLTech also reported a marginal decline of 261 in its employee strength during the quarter.

At TCS, management explicitly linked the decline to a combination of restructuring-led exits and ongoing attrition. Addressing workforce movements during the analyst call, Sudeep Kunnumal, CHRO, TCS, said the company was continuing with its previously announced restructuring exercise.