TCS Workforce Declines by 11,151 to 5.82 Lakh in Q3FY26

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a net fall of 11,151 employees in the December quarter of FY26, as per its quarterly factsheet released on January 12, 2026. The reduction comes amid ongoing changes to workforce structure during the period. 

The company’s total employee strength stood at 5,82,163 as of December 31, 2025. This compares with 5,93,314 employees at the end of the September quarter, showing a second straight quarter of decline in overall headcount. 

Second Consecutive Quarterly Decline 

The December-quarter fall follows a sharper contraction in the September quarter, when TCS reported a net reduction of 19,755 employees. The company had earlier stated that about 6,000 of those exits were involuntary and related to a restructuring programme. 

TCS had announced earlier in the year that it planned to reduce around 12,000 roles as part of internal restructuring. The latest numbers indicate that the exercise continued into the December quarter, though the scale of reduction was lower than in the previous quarter. 

Restructuring Costs Lower in Q3 

Restructuring-related expenses declined sharply during the quarter. These costs fell by more than 77% sequentially to ₹253 crore, compared with the previous quarter, indicating a reduction in one-time expenses linked to workforce changes. 

Despite the lower restructuring costs, the quarter included significant exceptional charges linked to statutory changes. TCS reported ₹2,128 crore as an exceptional item related to the implementation of new labour codes in India. 

Labour Code Impact on Earnings 

The company said the incremental impact of the labour code changes included ₹1,816 crore towards gratuity and ₹312 crore towards long-term compensated absences. These costs mainly arose from changes in wage definitions under the new regulations. 

As a result of these exceptional items, consolidated net profit for the October–December quarter fell 14% year on year to ₹10,657 crore. Revenue, however, increased sequentially during the quarter. 

Attrition and Longer-term Context 

Voluntary attrition in IT services stood at 13.5% on a last-twelve-month basis, suggesting that the headcount reduction was largely due to planned actions rather than a sudden rise in employee exits. In FY24, TCS had reported a decline in employee numbers for the first time since its listing in 2004. 

Read More: TCS Announces Interim Dividend of ₹11 per Equity Share and Special Dividend of ₹46 per Share! 

TCS Share Price Performance  

As of January 14, 2026, 9:25 am, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) share price was trading at ₹3,240.10, a 0.80% decrease from the previous closing price. 

Conclusion 

The December-quarter data shows a continued reduction in TCS’ workforce, lower restructuring expenses, and the impact of labour law changes on profitability during the period. 

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