H-1B visa crackdown not an existential threat to TCS; CEO Krithivasan says firm 'can survive'

Amid the uncertainty around H-1B visas, Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) K Krithivasan has opened up about the IT giant's view on the work visa, restrictions on which, introduced by US President Donald Trump, have rocked the industry.

Krithivasan's comments take on particular importance, with TCS being the second-biggest beneficiary of the H-1B programme in 2025 after Amazon, with over 5,000 H-1B visas approved in 2025 alone.

In an interview with Business Standard, Krithivasan addressed not just concerns regarding the work visa, but also spoke about the company's recent move to lay off 12,000 people globally.

'Not dependent on H-1B'

On the back of the layoffs, US Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin had raised questions about the company hiring over 5,500 H-1B workers, which the tech CEO addressed directly in the interview.

Commenting on facing questions from US Senators, Krithivasan said, "I was neither happy nor unhappy. It gave me an opportunity to articulate our positions more clearly and to address the Senators’ questions about the H-1B issue."

Explaining that the "figure of 5,500" pertained to people amending or renewing their H-1B petitions, the TCS CEO said that fresh applications were much lower, "probably around 2,500".

"We have 31,000 to 32,000 employees in the US, of whom only 11,000 to 12,000 are on H-1B visas, while the rest are on other types of visas. We have been progressively increasing local workforce participation, which will continue because the way of work has changed with new kinds of projects and AI coming into play, where you need to work closely with the customer and need different skill sets," Krithivasan was quoted as saying.

"It is not just about engineering skills anymore; there is a growing demand for creative thinking and prompt engineering skills. In FY26, we sent just 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas, which means we can survive without them (H-1B visas). There is no dependence on H-1B visas," the TCS CEO, most notably, said.

"There was a time when this was a significant retention policy, but over the past four-five years, it has been on a declining trend. It is now far less of a retention policy than it once was, and we should not be assessing today’s scenario through yesterday’s lens," he added.

'Skill mismatch for the future'

When quizzed about the mass layoffs at TCS, Krithivasan explained that only two categories of employees had been affected: those on the bench for three to six months, and those who were underperforming.

"I don’t believe the Tata group, while humane, would have retained employees with performance issues," the chief of the IT giant was quoted as saying.

He also explained that a "skill mismatch" also contributed to some of the layoffs.

"We have relieved individuals where we see a skill mismatch for the future. The company is pivoting to be future-ready and a big player in the AI ecosystem. If someone doesn’t fit into the scheme of things, we need to exit them gracefully. This approach, I believe, does not conflict with our ethos," Krithivasan said.

Uncertainty around H-1B

The Trump administration, which has described the H-1B programme as the one of the "most abused visa" systems in the US' immigration framework, recently slapped a $100,000 ( ₹88 lakh) fee on fresh applications, sending shockwaves across firms that rely on the programme to employ highly-skilled talent from around the world.