An IANS report dated 25 April 2026 says the combined headcount of five large Indian IT firms (TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra) fell by 7,389 in FY26, against a net addition of 12,718 in FY25. We read this through that report; it relays company and NASSCOM figures.
The figures as reported
- TCS laid off about 12,000 employees during FY26.
- NASSCOM reports about 1.35 lakh net tech-sector job additions in FY26, against 1.33 lakh in FY25, taking the workforce to 59.5 lakh.
- TCS plans about 25,000 fresher hires in FY27, down from 40,000 to 42,000 in prior years; Infosys plans about 20,000.
How to read it
Large service providers are shrinking while the wider sector still grows, so work is moving between firms and into smaller specialists and in-house teams. The report does not attribute the headcount decline to AI, and neither should we. For buyers, the practical point is that delivery models and pricing from large providers are changing, which is a reason to review contracts.
Correlation isn't cause. Fresher intake is also affected by demand cycles and cost pressure, so be careful before blaming AI alone.