BENGALURU: Even though TCS deferred its annual increments, an unprecedented departure from its April cycle, TCS EVP and CHRO Milind Lakkad said that the company rolled out 1.1 lakh promotions in FY25.
They are in the process of hiring about 42,000 trainees in FY26, having recorded a similar number of hires in FY25.
At the earnings presser, TCS CFO Samir Seksaria said the firm’s tactical interventions were approximately 100 basis points, predominantly linked to promotions and merit-based advancements. However, some analysts felt that the demand cycle didn’t warrant employee interventions out of cycle.

“Last year, we hired 40% digital hires compared to 17% the year before that. This is very strategic for us. For the four quarters, we had 13% attrition on the employee base we have. And we would need people for growth and for back-filling that attrition. And this (promotions) is a good way to do this,” Lakkad told TOI.
TCS’s National Qualifier Test follows an integrated test pattern for entry-level hires. Based on the test performance, candidates will qualify for any one of the following hiring categories – Prime, Digital, and Ninja. He said that the company onboarded 42,000 trainees in FY 25, and it would be a similar number in the current fiscal year too.