‘No More Kitne Aadmi The': Former Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani Calls TCS Layoffs End Of IT's ‘Sholay Era'
CP Gurnani, former CEO of Tech Mahindra, said that layoffs show that measuring IT companies by how many employees they have is becoming outdated.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently announced its massive layoff. Amid this, CP Gurnani, former CEO of Tech Mahindra, said this shows that measuring IT companies by how many employees they have is becoming outdated. Using Sholay's famous dialogue, he explained that the time when people asked 'Kitne aadmi the" will soon be gone.
Now, companies will focus more on how their work impacts customers and business outcomes.
Speaking with CNBC-TV18, Gurnani said, 'The focus on the Sholay dialogue 'Kitne aadmi the' or judging the Indian IT industry based on headcount, thank god that period will be over. All of us will have to rewire ourselves to start looking at output and outcome-based business models, outcome-based pricing, and look at what it does for business and customers, instead of looking at IT and systems in isolation."
'I am actually quite excited because we, as in the Indian IT industry, have a chance to prove that we will build platforms and accelerate innovation, and we will rule the world focusing on the application cycle," he added.
According to a report by Moneycontrol, TCS is planning to cut around 2 per cent of its workforce, which means about 12,000 employees may lose their jobs. The company is doing this to become faster and better prepared for future changes. A source told the portal that both the industry and educational institutions need to focus more on training and re-training people with the right skills.
But TCS CEO K Krithivasan explained that the job cuts are not directly linked to the rise of artificial intelligence. Instead, the company wants to make sure it has the right talent to match the needs of the future.
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First Published:
July 29, 2025, 16:18 IST
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