TCS: 8 in 10 New Hires Will Need AI Skills

MUMBAI: Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest IT employer, said on Monday that as many as 80 percent of its future hires will need digital and artificial intelligence skills, the clearest signal yet of how AI is rewriting the rules of the country's flagship industry.

Chief operating officer Arathi Subramanian told the Press Trust of India that of the 4,500 employees TCS added in the September quarter, 25 to 30 percent were pure AI specialists and roughly 80 percent had "new age" technology skills. Asked whether that ratio would hold going forward, she said yes, adding that the talent is available in the market.

AI is now the business

AI-led work accounted for 10 percent of TCS's revenue in the September quarter, and management expects growing deal volumes to lift profit margins that remain below the company's aspirational levels.

"As these AI deals increase in volume, you would see that there will be margin benefit," chief executive K. Krithivasan said. He added that TCS takes a conservative approach when classifying contracts as AI deals, even though some element of AI is present in almost all the work it handles.

Subramanian said customers typically start with an AI project in one business area and expand it across the company once the value is proven, a land-and-expand pattern that is accelerating.

What it means for workers

The shift is not only about fresh graduates. Asked whether AI-nativity gives newcomers an edge over mid-career professionals, Subramanian said the advantage goes to people willing to "unlearn and learn."

Krithivasan agreed, noting that a mid-level engineer who embraces new skills has a real edge because they understand both the technology landscape and the business domain in a way a junior hire cannot.

TCS also plans to keep investing in "niche talent," alongside mergers, acquisitions and partnerships, as it races to build AI capability faster than rivals.

Why it matters

For India's millions of engineering students and IT workers, the message is blunt: AI fluency is no longer a bonus skill, it is the entry ticket. Campus hiring, already underway for the next cycle, will reward hands-on AI portfolios over plain marksheets.

For the industry, TCS's pivot confirms that the AI transition has moved from pilot projects to the profit-and-loss statement. When the biggest player says eight in ten hires must be AI-ready, every competitor and every training institute will follow.

Key numbers

• 80%: share of future TCS hires expected to have digital and AI skills
• 4,500: employees added in the September quarter
• 25-30%: of those Q2 additions who were pure AI specialists
• 10%: share of September-quarter revenue from AI-led work