L&T betting big on digital workers, says CFO

Larsen & Toubro is betting big on automation, robotics and technology-led solutions to scale up construction activities as increasing manpower alone may not be a viable option for growth, a top official of the company said.

“What we have been doing over the last 3-4 years in particular, is to create automation to the level that we did not expect construction industry to engage. Our effort has been to automate as much as possible,” said L&T chief financial officer R Shankar Raman at ICICI Securities India Investors Conference 2026.

He said the company’s order book has increased to around Rs 7.5 lakh crore from Rs 3-3.5 lakh crore five years ago, while the workforce engaged in execution has grown from 1.5 lakh direct and indirect workers to about 4 lakh.

Raman said the company is focusing on automation to address execution challenges and reduce dependence on traditional labour-intensive construction methods. “Our effort has been to automate as much as possible. Make construction not so much of a site work. Make it a bit of a factory work by having prefabricated structures, modular structures. So, you go to the site and bolt them,” he said. He said the company is using robotics for activities such as welding, painting and plastering, and described technology-enabled systems as ‘digital workers’.

“Today, we are having welders who are robots controlled by a programme. We don’t need to run around for welding skill in the country. We have painters. We have people who do the plastering. All of that is being done by robots.

So, in a way, you can call them digital workers,” Raman said.

Raman said labour availability has emerged as a key challenge for the construction sector, as workers today have more employment choices. “Today, thanks to the way certain sectors have developed, people have got a little easier option than to go work in 40 degrees and 45 degrees and sit in a camp working for 6 months, 9 months a year. It’s not a preferred option. They are quite happy to open the mall doors, staying in an air-conditioned environment. And that’s reality of life,” he said.

He added that workforce continuity is also affected by seasonal migration, agricultural cycles and workers travelling back to their villages.