Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the multinational IT firm, has announced that it has no plans for layoffs and will be providing salary hikes similar to previous years. According to the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Milind Lakkad, TCS believes in grooming talent and being cautious in its approach, which is why it is not hiring more people than required. The company has a total workforce of over 600,000 employees, and more than 2,000,000 employees were inducted over the past year, including 1,100,000 trainees.

Lakkad further stated that TCS is open to hiring workers impacted by layoffs, particularly those with talent in user experience design, artificial intelligence, cloud aspects, and product experience. The company is looking for talented individuals to participate in its work across different industries and technologies. TCS has not stopped lateral hiring, and the company is adding laterals as per business demand every quarter.

TCS’s announcement comes at a time when several tech companies, including Google, Meta, and Twitter, have laid off employees due to cost-cutting or poor performance. While layoffs have become increasingly common, TCS has taken a different approach by focusing on upskilling its employees with the required skill sets.

TCS’s focus is on training employees

According to Lakkad, TCS’s focus is on training employees who may have a gap in their skill sets, rather than terminating them. Once a staff member joins the company, it becomes the firm’s responsibility to make them productive and derive value. TCS believes in grooming its talent in-house and providing them with the necessary resources and training to improve their performance.

TCS has reduced its workforce by 2,197 employees sequentially in the third quarter of FY23. Lakkad explained that the company had hired over two lakh people, including over one lakh trainees, in the past year. The slowdown in new hires resulted in the decline, but Lakkad stated that the company does not see any significant addition in new employees for the next few quarters, as it is leveraging its past investments now.

TCS is also open to hiring people of the Indian diaspora in the US who have lost their jobs with the tech giants. Currently, 70 per cent of its US employees are Americans, but the company would like to lower that percentage to 50 per cent to provide its Indian employees with international opportunities.

TCS operates on a hybrid model, with a combination of remote and office work.

The company has implemented the 25/25 model, under which employees can work remotely for 25 per cent of their time and from the office for 25 per cent of their time. TCS has also provided its employees with the necessary resources and training to ensure that they can work effectively from home.

In conclusion, TCS’s announcement that it has no plans for layoffs comes as a relief to its employees amid the ongoing layoffs in the tech industry. TCS’s focus on upskilling employees with the required skill sets rather than terminating them is a positive approach to talent management. Additionally, the company’s decision to hire impacted workers is a step towards providing opportunities to those who have lost their jobs. TCS’s open approach to hiring the Indian diaspora in the US also highlights the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity.