Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has retained its position as India's largest corporate employer, with a workforce of 607,979 employees, while Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has overtaken Reliance Industries to become the country's second-largest employer by headcount.
According to workforce data compiled by CNBC-TV18, the rankings reflect the scale of employment generated by India's largest listed companies across technology, engineering, manufacturing and financial services.
The list also highlights the continued dominance of IT services firms, with TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra all featuring among the country's ten largest employers.
TCS continues to lead corporate India
TCS maintained its top ranking from the previous year, employing 607,979 people. According to the CNBC-TV18 analysis, the company:
- Reported employee costs of ₹1,45,788 crore in 2025.
- Had a market valuation of ₹8,95,080 crore.
The figures reinforce TCS's position as India's largest private-sector employer by workforce size.
L&T climbs to second place
Larsen & Toubro moved up one position to become India's second-largest employer. The engineering and infrastructure major reported:
- 412,971 employees
- Employee costs of ₹46,769 crore
- Market valuation of ₹5,52,170 crore
The move pushed Reliance Industries to third place.
Reliance employed 403,303 people and had the highest market valuation among the companies ranked at ₹19,36,230 crore. Its reported employee costs stood at ₹28,559 crore.
Technology companies dominate the rankings
The latest rankings underline the technology sector's significant contribution to formal employment in India. The remaining companies in the top ten are:
Among the developments in this year's rankings, Tech Mahindra entered the top ten for the first time.
Employee costs vary across sectors
The data also illustrates how employee spending differs across industries. Among the leading employers:
- Infosys reported employee costs of ₹85,950 crore.
- HCLTech reported ₹66,755 crore.
- Wipro reported ₹53,348 crore.
- HDFC Bank reported ₹34,136 crore.
- ICICI Bank reported ₹23,630 crore.
While Reliance Industries topped the list by market valuation, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank ranked second and third respectively on that measure.
Workforce scale remains a competitive advantage
The rankings reflect the breadth of employment created by India's largest corporations across multiple sectors.
Technology companies continue to account for a significant share of organised employment, while engineering, manufacturing and banking groups also maintain large workforces to support nationwide operations.
As businesses continue investing in digital capabilities, infrastructure and customer expansion, workforce scale is expected to remain a key indicator of organisational reach and business capacity.