Bengaluru: At a time when the IT industry is on edge over job cuts, with several companies citing AI-led efficiencies and productivity gains for rationalising headcount, especially at mid- to senior levels, LTM CEO and M…

Bengaluru: At a time when the IT industry is on edge over job cuts, with several companies citing AI-led efficiencies and productivity gains for rationalising headcount, especially at mid- to senior levels, LTM CEO and MD Venu Lambu said there is absolutely no fear “if you have the right skills and mindset to work in the AI era”.”AI is still not leading to any layoffs, at least from my own business standpoint. If somebody is using that as a reason, then probably they had some excess capacity that is not aligned to their growth or skills,” Lambu told DH.Muted growth ahead for IT services firms as headwinds persistLTM has not laid off anyone, despite passing on AI-led productivity benefits to clients and has no plans to do so, he said. He added that the company has hired more than 1,000 freshers every quarter over the last four quarters and will continue to do so. LTM, formerly LTIMindtree, is the sixth-largest IT services provider by revenue.The company has grown QoQ for the last 5-6 quarters, delivering 6% growth last year by doing more work without increasing headcount.The strategy, he said, is to infuse talent at the bottom of the pyramid with an AI-native mindset, while transforming the existing workforce with new skillsets. As of June 2026, the company employs 87,886 people.On growth outlook, Lambu said LTM guided at the start of the fiscal that each quarter would be better than the previous one, and that H2 FY27 would grow much faster than H1. He drew parallels with earlier technology inflections like the internet, cloud and digital, where delivery models were reimagined. With AI, he said, it is not about digitising existing workflows or delivering technology at lower cost, but about redefining and reimagining business processes at client organisations with an agentic framework. That, he said, is giving LTM the opportunity across the entire AI stack.On AI becoming foundational, he said it will manifest in three ways — as an intelligence layer embedded in every service, as a productivity tool to deliver more work in less time with less capacity, and as a way to reimagine workflows.In Q1, the company’s AI revenue run-rate hit $150 million, and the CEO said AI is going to be embedded either in the form of skills for using those tools to deliver work or it will be used to build some intelligence and self-learning and autonomous enterprises for the customers, and that adoption pace is picking up.At a time when token-based pricing has emerged as the biggest concern across the IT industry, he said, “IT budgets are being reallocated to AI spend, including models, talent transformation and AI services.” While clients initially burned tokens without governance and got large bills, costs will come down with volume, low-cost model options, open models and routing capabilities like BlueVerse OneToken, which the company launched last month. It is a workload routing and governance layer with harnessing capabilities that automatically channels enterprise AI requests to the right model at the right cost.Regarding the macro environment, Lambu acknowledged multiple headwinds, including macroeconomic factors, wars and changing global immigration policies, but said demand traction continues.LTM operates in BFSI, tech, consumer and production verticals. BFSI and tech had productivity headwinds behind them in Q1, and traction is increasing. Apart from seasonal weakness, he sees continued demand traction in big verticals.Freshers’ AI exposure varies, practical application skills needed: HCLTech’s SundararajanWhile BFSI and tech are concentrated in the US and the company continues to see positive traction there, LTM also sees opportunity to reimagine delivery through nearshore, offshore and localised workforce. US clients are at the forefront of AI adoption. New growth is coming from Europe and Australia via the acquisition of Randstad’s technology and consulting services business, which is under regulatory approval and expected to close in Q3.On future M&A, Lambu said, “LTM is not acquisition-hungry and is focused on value-creation and will look at deals only if they complement white spaces.”

Source: Deccan Herald