TCS sees continued headcount decline despite higher fresher intake

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services firm, continued to see its headcount fall even as the company said it has doubled the intake of freshers.

 

For the third quarter of FY26, ending December 31, 2025, the company’s headcount was down by 11,151. TCS’ total headcount stood at 582,163, down from 593,314 in the preceding quarter.

 

TCS’ voluntary attrition for the quarter stood at 13.5 per cent, slightly higher than 13.3 per cent in the preceding quarter.

 

The degrowth in headcount this quarter was lower than what was seen in the second quarter of FY26. In the second quarter, the headcount decline was 19,755 employees.

 

 

Looking at the overall numbers, analysts said that the company’s restructuring is the main reason for the drop in headcount. While it could not ascertain the exact number of people impacted due to restructuring, the company, in an earlier announcement, had said that 2 per cent, or 12,260 people, would be impacted.

 

“The recent quarterly disclosures by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have once again exposed a serious disconnect between the company’s public narrative and the reality faced by employees. In its Q3 FY26 results, TCS has officially disclosed that its headcount fell by 11,151 employees in a single quarter as part of an ongoing restructuring exercise. This sharp reduction, coupled with an attrition rate of around 13.5 per cent, clearly establishes that the company is undergoing large-scale workforce rationalisation and not merely routine attrition, as it seeks to portray,” said Harpreet Singh Saluja, president, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES).