The age of judging Indian IT companies by headcount is coming to an finish, warns CP Gurnani, former CEO of Tech Mahindra. Within the wake of TCS shedding over 12,000 staff—2% of its international workforce—Gurnani says the business is shifting to an output-based mannequin the place job quantity issues lower than worth delivered.
“The deal with the Sholay dialogue ‘Kitne aadmi the’—that interval will likely be over,” Gurnani advised CNBC-TV18, signaling the top of utilizing sheer worker numbers as a benchmark for fulfillment within the IT sector. “We must rewire ourselves to deal with output and outcome-based enterprise fashions.”
The shift comes amid a wave of AI-driven restructuring that’s already rewriting roles throughout the business. Whereas TCS insists the cuts aren’t immediately linked to AI adoption, Gurnani believes the churn is a part of a broader realignment. “There isn’t a level in having a conventional HR group,” he mentioned. “In the end, it turns into a data-centric construction with a human contact.”
He sees this because the “humanization of AI”—the place automation trims redundant duties however concurrently opens house for brand new roles. “They want extra AI engineers, extra knowledge scientists, immediate engineers, and individuals who can collapse a number of features,” Gurnani added.
Ganesh Natarajan, Government Chairman of GTT Information Options, echoed that outlook with a sharper warning: “Over 1,000,000 jobs will get redundant,” he mentioned, citing roles in testing, documentation, and primary programming as the primary to go.
He urged firms and employees alike to embrace “game-changing AI”—not simply transitional upgrades.
“This churn is not going to cease right here,” Natarajan mentioned. “We have to tighten our seatbelts and be ready for the subsequent two to a few years of disruption.”
At the same time as new alternatives emerge, the tempo of change is unforgiving. Business consultants agree that skilling and re-skilling at the moment are vital for survival—not simply progress. Academia and company coaching should align shortly, or threat leaving hundreds behind in an AI-dominated job market.
The layoffs at TCS are being seen because the opening transfer in a protracted interval of flux. The message from business veterans is evident: the IT sector is being essentially rewired—and nobody can afford to remain static.
