HCL Tech reported the highest sequential dip in headcount since Q1FY25 for the quarter ended June 30. The IT major’s employee base reduced by 3,292 in the first quarter of FY27. At the end of the quarter, its total headcount stood at 223,889 compared to 227,181 in the March quarter.
This contrasts with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) adding 9,200 employees in Q1, marking a second consecutive quarter of net hiring after the company added 2,356 employees in the March quarter.
In Q1FY25, the company had seen a headcount reduction of 8,080. Since then, its employee count has gone through ups and downs, but not lost more than 780 employees in a quarter (Q2FY25) until now.
Ramachandran Sundararajan, chief people officer at HCLTech, said that the headcount at the end of the quarter should be seen in relation to the revenue. “You need to look at the quarter ending headcount in line with revenues. You will see the productivity improvement. Revenue per employee has improved. We added 1,056 freshers this quarter. That again is in line with the plan for Q1, which again usually is a soft quarter, so everything gets reflected accordingly,” he added. In the previous quarter, HCLTech hired 1,712 freshers.
The company has started reporting revenue per employee from this quarter. For the June quarter, this metric came in at $65.5 per associate, up from $65.1 per associate in the previous quarter, and $63.4 per associate in Q1FY26.
“Our AI strategy execution is showing up in a 3.3% year-on-year increase in revenue per employee, which has gone up every quarter for the last five quarters,” C Vijayakumar, MD and CEO, HCLTech said.
While the company did not give a target revenue per employee it is chasing, Vijayakumar expressed confidence that the metric will grow gradually.
IT services voluntary attrition was 12.7%, rising marginally from 12.5% in the prior quarter. Sundararajan said the firm’s attrition over the past 10 quarters had stabilised at 12.7%.
“We hire based on demand, and we continue to evolve as an AI solutions company. This means the IP components, the automation and AI infusion in all our service delivery will make it easier for us to deliver the same work with slightly lesser number of people,” Vijayakumar added.
The company has not put a number on the quantum of fresher intakes in this year, though Sundararajan has indicated it would be “directionally same as FY26”. In FY26, the firm took on 11,744 freshers.