After 20,000 layoffs, TCS plans to have as many AI agents as human staff in next 3 years

Published 9 June 2026 · tech

TCS will have as many AI agents as human employees within the next three years, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday, outlining the

TCS will have as many AI agents as human employees within the next three years, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday, outlining the company’s push to make artificial intelligence a central driver of growth. Speaking at TCS’ 31st Annual General Meeting, he told shareholders, "I predict that over the next three years, TCS will have as many AI agents as human employees." Read Full Story Chandrasekaran said TCS is already investing heavily in AI agents across internal operations, solution frameworks and external operations as part of its wider enterprise AI strategy. He said the company does not plan to downsize staff, but will slow hiring. Last July, the company cut more than 12,000 jobs. Reports say its headcount has been reduced by more than 20,000 since then, though the IT major later clarified that, “the 20,000 headcount (reduction) is a factor of voluntary and involuntary attrition." Chandrasekaran said TCS’ AI revenues have grown consistently over the last four quarters, with a compound quarterly growth rate of more than 22 per cent, and added that its annualised AI revenue reached $2.5 billion in the last quarter of fiscal 2026.

"The day is not very far when TCS will have equal number of AI agents or AI workers as their physical workers," Chandrasekaran said, describing AI as a transformational force for the technology services industry. At the same time, he tried to pacify concerns about technology disrupting the sector. "Far from being a mortal threat, AI is the most significant opportunity yet for enterprise IT," he said. Chandrasekaran said TCS continues to see strong business momentum despite concerns around AI-led disruption. "Margins have held, revenues are up, and the deal pipeline is stronger than ever," he said. He added that as the cost of intelligence declines, more business processes will move towards AI-enabled systems, and nearly three-quarters of enterprises worldwide expect technology spending to rise over the next two years, largely because of AI investments.

He outlined five pro-AI growth opportunities for the company. The first, he said, is the modernisation of legacy systems, including outdated technology infrastructure and fragmented data environments. The second is redesigning end-to-end business processes with AI, including supply chains and customer journeys. The third opportunity, he said, lies in governing and managing AI agents to ensure compliance, security and cost efficiency. The fourth is the rise of sovereign AI, under which governments and highly regulated institutions seek greater control over AI infrastructure and data. Chandrasekaran said TCS has already launched sovereign AI initiatives in India and Europe. The fifth area, he said, is physical AI, which extends AI capabilities to factories, warehouses and vehicles. "In enterprise AI, the scarcest resource will not be the model.