During the third quarter (October-December) of the current fiscal year, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, the top two IT services companies in India, both experienced a significant decline in their employee headcounts. 

TCS experienced a sequential reduction of 5,680 employees, while Infosys witnessed a decrease of 6,101 in their respective headcounts, reported Business Standard. Notably, despite these reductions, attrition rates showed a decline during this period.

Infosys concluded the December quarter with 322,663 employees, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of a declining workforce. Combined, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) witnessed a year-on-year reduction of 34,851 employees. 

TCS, ending the third quarter with a workforce of 603,305, expressed its intention to hire 40,000 freshers from campuses in the current fiscal year, reported Business Standards. 

Despite the decline in headcount, Infosys reported a lowered attrition rate of 12.9% in Q3FY24, down from the previous quarter's 14.6%. Similarly, TCS saw a reduced attrition rate of 13.3% compared to 14.9% in the previous quarter.

While TCS is actively pursuing campus hiring, Infosys mentioned no immediate campus requirements for FY24. The decline in headcount is a significant concern for the IT sector, particularly impacting engineering graduates, as these companies traditionally recruit heavily from campuses. 

Milind Lakkad, TCS's Chief HR Officer, noted, "Attrition is trending down and at 13.3 percent, is now in our range of comfort."

When questioned about the challenge of bringing employees back to the office, Lakkad responded, stating, "Almost 65 per cent of employees have returned to the office." Addressing concerns about employees being compelled to relocate, he emphasised, "Mobility is inherent to the job and contributes to career growth."