TCS brings back regular salary hikes amid workforce dip, ‘double-digit’ raise for top performers

IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has brought back its regular salary hike cycle amid a shrink in its workforce in FY26.

TCS, the country's largest software services provider ended the fiscal year with 5,84,519 employees — which is down by 23460 employees, as compared to a year earlier to it. This sharp fall comes amid the 2% reduction in its workforce, equating to nearly 12,000 jobs.

At the same time the IT giant announced an annual salary hike for its eligible employees across all grades, effective 1 April, 2026 – marking a return to its regular appraisal cycle following last year's delay – that was pushed back by several months.

‘Double-digit hike for top performers’

Tata Consultancy Services said salary hikes have been implemented across all grades, with top performers getting double-digit increases. The company, however, did not share details of the overall average hike.

“We have announced Annual increments to all eligible employees across grades, effective April 1, with top performers getting double digit increase,” said TCS.

Last year in September, TCS announced rounds of salary hikes with an increment rate set between 4.5% and 7% for the majority of the company's employees after a short period of delayed hike, news agency PTI reported.

According to the report, the IT major had increased the salaries of its lower- and middle-level employees. People aware of the development told the news agency that the top performers in the company were given as much as 10% pay hikes.

In FY26, TCS said it hired over 750 employees with deep advisory and consulting expertise

Recruitment across AI, data, more

The IT giant said that recruitment efforts have been focused on hiring individuals who have expertise in Artificial Intelligence, data, Enterprise Solutions, software engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and digital engineering.

Tata Consultancy Services has extended 25,000 job offers to fresh graduates for the current financial year.

Speaking to PTI in a recent interview – TCS Chief Executive and Managing Director K Krithivasan confirmed the numbers and offered a conditional path to more. "We have made 25,000 offers for freshers in FY27. Clarity on demand will lead to more hiring," he said.

The company also continues to rely on its existing workforce. TCS said that it has stepped up investments in talent development initiatives – with over 270,000 associates now possessing advanced proficiencies in AI and machine learning.

TCS Q4 results

TCS announced its results for the fourth quarter of the financial year on Thursday, 9 April. The IT major beat expectations as its revenue jumped 9.6% year-on-year to ₹70,698 crore for the quarter ended March 2026. Meanwhile, the profit rose 12% YoY to ₹13,718 crore.