H-1B visa crackdown not an existential threat to TCS; CEO Krithivasan says firm ‘can survive’
Amid uncertainty around H-1B visas, K Krithivasan of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) explained the IT giant’s view on work visa, where restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump have shaken the industry.
Krithivasan’s comments are particularly important; TCS will be the second-largest beneficiary of the H-1B program after Amazon in 2025, with more than 5,000 H-1B visas approved in 2025 alone.
One report with Business StandardKrithivasan not only touched on work visa concerns, but also talked about the company’s recent move to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide.
‘Not dependent on H-1B’
Following the layoffs, U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin raised questions about the company’s hiring of more than 5,500 H-1B workers, and the tech CEO directly addressed that question in the interview.
Commenting on the questions posed by the US Senators, Krithivasan said, “I was neither happy nor unhappy. This gave me the opportunity to express our positions more clearly and answer the Senators’ questions on the H-1B issue.” he said.
Explaining that the “5,500 figure” refers to people amending or renewing their H-1B petitions, the TCS CEO said new applications are much lower, “probably around 2,500.”
“We have 31,000 to 32,000 employees in the US, and only 11,000 to 12,000 of them have H-1B visas, the rest have other types of visas. We are gradually increasing local workforce participation; this will continue because the way of working has changed with the introduction of artificial intelligence and new types of projects where you need to work closely with the customer and you need different skills,” Krithivasan said. he says.
“This is not just about engineering skills anymore; there is a growing demand for creative thinking and fast engineering skills. In FY26, we sent only 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas, which means we can survive without them (H-1B visas). There is no dependency on H-1B visas,” said the TCS CEO.
“There was a time when this was a significant retention policy, but it has shown a downward trend in the last four-five years. There is now much less of a retention policy than before and we should not evaluate today’s scenario through the lens of yesterday,” he added.
‘Skills mismatch for the future’
When asked about the mass layoffs at TCS, Krithivasan clarified that only two categories of employees were affected: those who worked on the bench for three to six months and those who were underperformers.
The IT giant’s chief was quoted as saying, “I do not believe that the Tata group, although humane, will hire employees with performance issues.”
He also explained that a “skills mismatch” also contributed to some layoffs.
“We have reassured individuals in cases where we have seen a skill mismatch for the future. The company is future-ready and pivoting to become a major player in the AI ecosystem. If someone does not fit the scheme, we must exit them gracefully. I believe this approach does not conflict with our ethos,” Krithivasan said.
Uncertainty around H-1B
Describing the H-1B program as one of the “most abused visa” systems in the US immigration framework, the Trump administration recently cut $100,000 ($100,000) in fees to the tune of $88 lakh. ₹88 lakh) fee on new applications is sending shockwaves through firms that rely on the scheme to recruit highly skilled talent from around the world.
