H-1B curbs push TCS to plan 15,000 US hires over next five years

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to hire around 15,000 employees locally in the United States over the next three to five years, as tighter H-1B visa availability accelerates a shift towards onshore talent, senior executives said.

The hiring push comes even as India’s largest IT services firm reported December-quarter results that fell short of analysts’ expectations on revenue growth and operating margins, reflecting continued global uncertainty in technology spending.

In an interview with The Times of India, chief executive K Krithivasan said demand for technology-led transformation remains resilient, with growing traction in artificial intelligence projects moving from experimentation to live production environments.

“The total contract value is good despite this being a seasonally weak quarter,” Krithivasan said. He added that clients are increasingly signing AI projects based on clear return-on-investment and payback metrics, signalling confidence in near-term business outcomes.

AI services revenue rose to an annualised run rate of $1.8 billion in the December quarter, up from $1.5 billion in the previous quarter, Krithivasan said, underscoring the firm’s push towards shorter-cycle, outcome-driven engagements.

Despite AI-led productivity gains, TCS does not expect growth to decouple entirely from hiring. Chief human resources officer Sudeep Kunnumal told The Times of India that demand for skilled talent remains strong, even after the company’s net headcount declined by about 31,000 over the past two quarters.

“We continue to hire while investing heavily in upskilling our existing workforce,” Kunnumal said, adding that recruitment is ongoing across campuses, lateral roles and senior leadership positions globally.

On US visas, Kunnumal said the company had applied for H-1B approvals in anticipation of demand, but stressed that dependency on the programme has reduced. “In the current quarter, most requirements were met through local hiring,” he said, noting that TCS remains on track to hire about 15,000 people locally in the US over the next three to five years.

The comments come amid heightened scrutiny of H-1B usage by Indian IT firms and rising visa costs, prompting companies to strengthen local employer brands in key overseas markets.

TCS is also continuing to invest in AI infrastructure, including data centres, despite investor concerns around capital intensity. Krithivasan said India’s lower data centre costs — roughly 30% below those in western markets — and rising demand for sovereign data infrastructure support the investment case.

Looking ahead, executives said the company remains cautious on discretionary spending but sees momentum building into 2026, driven by AI adoption, cost optimisation mandates and gradual improvement in client confidence.