TCS to hire 20,000 in Q2, 60,000 in FY12

Country's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today said it would hire up to 20,000 employees in second quarter of the current fiscal.

"The company during second quarter is expected to hire 17,000 to 20,000 people," CEO and MD N Chandresekaran said here.

The company plans to hire about 60,000 people in the ongoing financial year (2011-12).

During the quarter ended June 30, the company made a gross addition of 11,988 employees, while 8,412 left the organisation. The net remaining with the organisation stood at 3,576 headcounts, taking total headcount to 2,02,190.

The attrition rate during the first quarter was 14.8% as compared to 14.4% last quarter (Q4 FY11).

"During the first quarter, attrition does tend to go up but for us it is just 0.4%. People leave for higher studies and there are also cases of dissatisfaction because of the wage hike in April quarter causing certain amount of attrition.

"If you ask me attrition rate is high but is also reflective of growth in the industry. Going foreward we expect 13-14% attrition rate to live with, but we believe it will come down," TCS Vice-President and Head (Global HR) Ajoy Mukherjee said.

In the January-March quarter, 2011, the company had done 75% of fresh hiring and 25 lateral hiring, however for 20,000 of headcount during the current quarter the company expects to hire 55 fresh and 45 lateral, Mukherjee added.

TCS is chasing 12 large deals in the United States, UK and elsewhere in Europe, and additional deals in emerging markets, Chandresekaran said.

TCS added 24 new clients in its first quarter, the company said today, helping it post a forecast-beating 28% rise in net profit.

TCS posted 26.7% rise in its net profit at Rs 2,415 crore for the first quarter of 2011-12.

However, sequentially the profit has declined as the company had posted Rs 2,623 crore profit in the last quarter of the previous fiscal.