TCS's Chief Operating Officer, N Ganapathy Subramaniam, recently announced the company's ambitious hiring plans for the current financial year. Despite a challenging growth environment and caution in the industry regarding fresh graduate recruitment, TCS is set to bring on board a whopping 40,000 campus recruits.
In Subramaniam's own words, "We usually hire between 35,000 to 40,000 people, and those plans are intact. There are no large-scale layoffs. The way we've calibrated this is we're working towards improving our own utilization because we have a decent bench." This commitment to hiring is a testament to TCS's confidence in its ability to meet the upcoming demand.
However, not all of TCS's industry peers share the same level of enthusiasm when it comes to campus hiring. Infosys, for example, is adopting a more cautious stance. Nilanjan Roy, the Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, mentioned during an earnings call that they would not be venturing onto campuses until there's a significant uptick in demand.
TCS is also exploring the option of adding laterally hired professionals to its talent pool. This decision will be based on the evolving landscape of discretionary spending. Subramaniam clarified, "When there is a contraction in discretionary spending, we hire a lesser number of laterals. In the last 12 to 14 months, we saw a huge attrition. We didn't know how long that would continue, so we ended up hiring a lot more than what we needed to build a bench."
Despite the industry's challenges, TCS maintains a robust bench to cater to various demands in the pipeline. Subramaniam pointed out that approximately 10% of TCS's massive workforce, which totals 6 lakh employees, is on the bench and readily deployable.
Regarding TCS's recent headcount reduction of 6,333 in the September quarter, Subramaniam explained that they could meet the demand primarily from their internal talent pool, reducing the need for extensive lateral hiring. TCS periodically calibrates its hiring strategy based on demand and skills gaps.
One area of high demand Subramaniam highlighted is the need for professionals with multi-cloud skills and expertise in interoperability standards.
TCS did face challenges in the last quarter, particularly in regions like North America and verticals like banking and financial services. Growth was sluggish, reflecting reduced discretionary spending, slower deal ramp-ups, and market uncertainties. Despite this, TCS secured orders worth $11.2 billion in the quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter with over $10 billion in total contract value (TCV).
Subramaniam acknowledged the macroeconomic challenges the industry faces, such as geopolitical risks and industry-specific headwinds. Clients are currently cautious about discretionary spending and prioritize projects with shorter return-on-investment timelines. As a result, spending in this category is tightly controlled, with an emphasis on delivering value in the next 90 days.
In summary, TCS's commitment to hiring fresh talent, while also considering lateral hiring, reflects its strategic approach to adapt to the evolving industry landscape and meet client demands in a challenging environment. Source
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