TCS Makes 25,000 Fresher Offers

These offers provide some relief to engineering students impacted by the uptake in AI tools.

Kind courtesy Naveen.kumar.kotta/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons

Tata Consultancy Services said it made 25,000 offers to freshers across engineering colleges in FY27.

Though the company may scale this number in the coming quarters, it is one of the lowest in fresher offers since FY20.

Key Points

TCS rolled out 25,000 fresher offers for FY27, marking one of the lowest campus hiring numbers since FY20.
The company may increase hiring later, depending on demand trends and business requirements across projects and client engagements.
Hiring slowdown comes amid global tech layoffs and rising adoption of artificial intelligence tools impacting entry-level roles.
TCS has increasingly focused on niche and high-skill talent, with fresher salaries ranging between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 12 lakh annually.
Subcontracting costs rose in Q4 FY26 as companies rushed to secure specialised skills unavailable through campus hiring.

TCS fresher hiring FY27

At a time when tech companies are laying off engineers across the world, including India, these offers provide some relief to engineering students impacted by the uptake in artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

"We have rolled out 25,000 offers to start with," said K Krithivasan, MD and CEO, in an interview with Business Standard following the Q4 FY26 results. "We will continue to assess demand as the year progresses and calibrate hiring accordingly."

"Offers will continue to be rolled out; we are already making plans to hire more," Krithivasan added.

AI impact on IT hiring

In FY20, the company made offers to 30,000 college freshers.

In FY26, TCS hired a total of 44,000 trainees.

Since FY21, the company has hired 40,000 campus freshers or more every financial year.

TCS hiring trends since FY20

FY22 was an aberration when the firm nearly doubled its fresher hiring to 78,000, taking total addition to over 100,000. This was primarily due to a surge in demand after Covid.

Subcontracting costs rise Q4

Meanwhile the firm's subcontracting expenses increased in Q4 FY26 as the company locked in niche skills.

Krithivasan said the company resorted to subcontractors as sometimes requirements need to be fulfilled very quickly.

"Whereas, in India, there is a lead time of three-four months before a full-time employee joins," he added.

Niche skills demand in IT

Recruitment firms said one of the reasons for TCS' slow start in FY27 could be lack of AI and niche skill talent from campuses.

"We have seen that TCS has been hiring more of fresher talent in the high-skilled category where entry-level salaries start from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh," said a HR recruitment firm executive who works with IT firms for campus hiring.

"But these skills are not available across campuses and may be a low number," the executive added.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff