TCS CEO K Krithivasan Earns ₹26.5 Crore Amid 12,261 Layoffs

Information Technology giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has revealed that its CEO K. Krithivasan earned a total annual compensation of ₹26.5 crore in FY25, marking a 4.6% increase from the previous year, according to the company’s latest annual report.

Krithivasan’s pay package included a base salary of ₹1.39 crore, ₹2.12 crore in benefits, perquisites and allowances, and a substantial ₹23 crore as commission. However, the report also highlighted that the CEO's compensation was 329.8 times the median employee salary, sparking criticism from netizens and IT employees.

On X (formerly Twitter), netizen Praveen Chakravarty voiced concerns about the disparity, posting:
"TCS CEO pay: ₹35 cr; Top 5 leadership: ₹40 cr; Avg employee: ₹15 lakh. If top 100 took small pay cuts, it can save 12,000 jobs. Their lives won’t be terrible at ₹2.5 cr pay vs ₹3 cr. For 12,000 families, lives will be miserable at 0 pay vs ₹15 lakh. AI is real; mass layoffs need not be."

Top Executives Also Took Home Crore-Level Salaries

The report revealed hefty compensation packages for other top officials as well. NG Subramaniam, former Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of TCS who stepped down in May 2024, earned ₹11.55 crore, including a ₹30 lakh base salary, ₹7.24 crore in benefits, and ₹4 crore in commission.

Non-executive directors Hanne Sorensen and Pradeep Kumar Khosla each received ₹2.74 crore, while independent director Keki Mistry was paid ₹3.06 crore, including ₹3 crore in commissions and ₹5.7 lakh as sitting fees. TCS Chairman N Chandrasekaran received only ₹2.1 lakh as sitting fees and no commission.

12,261 Employees Laid Off Amid AI-Led Transformation

The pay disclosures come at a time when TCS announced layoffs impacting 2% of its global workforce, amounting to 12,261 employees, mostly from middle- and senior-level roles.

The company clarified that the move was not driven by cost-cutting or automation but was part of a strategic realignment. TCS stated that redeploying employees whose roles no longer align with its evolving skill requirements remains a challenge.

The IT major is now focusing heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, which it says are reshaping talent demand and client needs across the IT sector.