On Friday (April 13), India’s largest information and technology (IT) software company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) revealed that its headcount had dropped by 13,249 employees (year-on-year) during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

TCS's stock exchange filing further revealed that it ended the FY24 with 601,546 employees. This is by far the first time in close to 2 decades of operation that the IT firm has witnessed a drop in headcount.

TCS saw a decrease of 1,759 employees in the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY 2024 (January to March) making it the third consecutive quarter in which the company's headcount has declined.

In the previous quarter, the number of employees dropped by 5,680 employees (quarter-on-quarter), and in Q2, the company witnessed a net reduction of 6,333 employees.

TCS reported a 9 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 12,434 crore for the January-March quarter of FY24, up from Rs 11,392 crore in the same period of the previous year.

Milind Lakkad, chief human resources officer, TCS, said in a statement, "The reduced attrition at 12.5 per cent, enthusiastic response to our campus hiring, increased customer visits and employees returning to the office have resulted in great vibrancy in our delivery centres and elevated morale of our associates,"

However the revenue of the company increased 3.5 per cent to Rs 61,237 crore during the quarter, Lakkad informed.