This time is crucial for the Indian IT industry as the news of the country’s top IT service providers going slow on hiring is circling around mostly affected by the client’s as they cut back spending and defer projects due to macroeconomic challenges.
TCS’s Outlook On Freshers Hiring This Year
During such times, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Milind Lakkad, had a conversation with the media following the announcement of the company’s earnings report for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2024.
Further he clarified the IT giant’s outlook towards campus hiring for the next few quarters, laying out what freshers can expect from TCS.
The campus hiring is a core part of the Tata Group’s flagship company, said Milind Lakkad.
Adding that campus hiring is set to continue over the next few quarters.
Optimizing Human Resources Utilization
In response to the question if the fresher intake target of 40,000 that was set out earlier will stay intact, he confirmed that “campus hiring is a part of our core strategy. We had onboarded a large number of trainees in Q1, we have done similar numbers in Q2, and we will continue to do so in the coming quarters.”
“In general, that number [40,000] is what we do. So, I don’t expect significant change, but there will be a few changes based on the project pauses that are happening,” Lakkad added.
Further he noted that TCS expects attrition levels in the range of 11 to 14 per cent.
It appears that the net headcount at TCS in Q2 FY24 fell by 6,333.
The IT sector bellwether’s focus has moved from hiring to retaining talent in the past few quarters.
Notably, it is now moving to optimizing human resources utilization.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Information technology (IT) companies have seen a tough couple of months owing to the challenging environment for technology services and geopolitical tensions in Europe and West Asia.
The other IT firms such as its peer, Infosys, has even announced that it would forego hiring from colleges this year.
The industry experts are also predicting a significant impact on IT freshers due to the slowdown in hiring, as per a recent media report.
