TCS CEO K Krithivasan says AI will not reduce white-collar jobs

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO K Krithivasan weighed in on the growing debate over artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs, iterating that the technology will not displace white-collar jobs, saying that roles will be reshaped, not eliminated.

"We do not believe that there would be a drastic reduction in employment," Krithivasan said during the earnings call following the company's Q1 report on Thursday.

"There will be people doing different things. Like currently, if they are doing software engineering and coding, there could be more skill sets required in terms of prompt engineering. People will be training models, testing models, and lifecycle management," he said, adding that the company disagrees that white-collar employment will go down.


Chief human resources officer Sudeep Kunnumal also said that the company was continuing to invest in AI infrastructure and skilling platforms to keep employees "future ready". He added that TCS had extended offers to more than 14,000 freshers in the June quarter and remains active on campuses in search of AI-native talent.

In the first quarter of FY27, India’s largest software services firm posted a 4.6% on-year growth in net profit at Rs 13,349 crore. Revenue rose 13.9% year-on-year to Rs 72,275 crore.

The company saw its headcount rise by over 9,200 employees in the three months to June, taking the total to 593,798 as of June 30. Voluntary attrition in IT services held at 13.6% on a last-twelve-month basis.

On the business side, TCS said its annualised AI revenue crossed $2.6 billion, up from $2.3 billion in the December quarter, driven by faster deployments across industries.

Many Indian software outsourcers, including TCS, have increased investments in AI tools, hoping to both earn new business and cut costs by boosting operational efficiencies.

The remarks also stand in contrast to comments in June from TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran, who indicated the company looks to add "half a million AI agents" to its workforce.

“If the company has half a million employees, the day is not far when the company will have half a million AI agents,” he said, adding that this would definitely lead to a decrease in hiring.