Amid a spate of layoffs and restructuring in the Indian IT sector, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced salary hikes for 80 per cent of its employees, mostly at the junior and mid levels. Incidentally, TCS is also in the process of laying off about 12,000 of its workforce in 2025.
The hikes, which would be effective from September 1, 2025, were confirmed to the employees through an internal email from chief human resources officer (CHRO) Milind Lakkad and CHRO designate K Sudeep. The note expressed gratitude to employees and said the revision would apply to all eligible associates up to grade C3A. In TCS, grade C3A typically refers to the designation of Assistant Consultant which, in industry parlance, falls under the mid-to-senior level positions. These positions mark the beginning of the mid-level career path within the company.
How Much Hike Will TCS Employees Get?
There is no word yet on how much the hikes will be, but last year, they ranged from 4.50-7 per cent, with high performers receiving double-digit raises.
The fact that TCS is pressing ahead with pay hikes even after delaying its usual April cycle is being seen as a significant move, particularly when other top-tier IT firms have either deferred or frozen increments altogether this year. Notably, TCS is also in the middle of a large workforce restructuring, which will see around 2 per cent of its global staff, primarily mid- and senior-level roles, exiting the company over the course of 2025. That roughly amounts to 12,000 jobs.
According to the company, this reorganisation is part of a broader plan to make TCS a “future-ready” enterprise, with an increased focus on AI adoption, entering new markets, and creating next-generation digital infrastructure.
“A number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible,” the company had earlier said according to some media reports.
IT Layoffs and Pressure on Employees
The announcement by TCS has come amid the IT sector currently wrestling with multiple pressures from delayed decision-making by global clients, protectionist policies in key markets, specifically the US, revenue uncertainty, and disruption from generative AI. In the first quarter of the current financial year, most Indian IT majors, including TCS, posted single-digit growth and flagged continuing headwinds from macroeconomic conditions.
TCS CEO K Krithivasan had acknowledged the tough environment during the company’s first quarter (Q1) earnings briefing in July. He spoke of delays in discretionary spending by clients and pointed to geopolitical tensions, inflation, and supply chain disruptions as factors behind the sluggish growth.
TCS’s Seniority Positions Saw Pay Upgrades
Ironically, while many middle and senior-level staff find themselves vulnerable to layoffs, the company’s top brass has seen steady increases in pay. Krithivasan himself took home Rs 26.52 crore in financial year (FY) 2025, a 4.60 per cent jump over the previous year, according to the company’s annual report. Other top executives, too, drew multi-crore compensation packages.
