India’s TCS chair says AI agents may equal headcount, dampen hiring

BENGALURU: India’s largest software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services expects IT companies to slow down hiring, as  the company moves towards having an equal number of employees and AI agents in its workforce, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.

India’s $315-billion IT sector has been grappling with investor concerns that AI could disrupt its traditional, labour-intensive business model. The industry, one of India’s largest private sector employers, has already slowed down hiring with geopolitical turmoil also denting client demand.

Mumbai-headquartered TCS does not plan to downsize staff, but will hire less, Chandrasekaran said. Last July, it cut more than 12,000 jobs, while headcount fell by more than 23,000 on a net basis in the fiscal year ended March 2026.

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“If the company has half a million employees, the day is not far when the company will have half a million AI agents… The company’s employees and AI agents will work together, and that will be the future.”

TCS shares have fallen more than 32% so far in 2026, compared with a 25% drop in the Nifty IT index.

Advanced AI tools have shaken up the way companies work across industries from Silicon Valley to media and IT in the last few years as businesses seek efficiencies while staying on top of rapid technological changes.

Chandrasekaran said increased usage of AI agents would curb the number of people hired by both TCS and the broader IT industry as tasks are automated. At the same time, he said new roles and opportunities would emerge as companies adapt to AI-driven ways of working.

“Some of the work being done will go to AI agents. That will be the nature of the transition that we have to go through not only as a company, as an industry, and as a country,” he said.

Chandrasekaran’s comments carry added weight as TCS is India’s largest IT firm by both market cap and number of employees.

The company’s annualised AI revenue crossed $2.3 billion in the quarter ended March 31. Chandrasekaran said 100% of TCS’ revenue will have an AI component before the end of the decade.