India's IT Giants Hit Hiring Brakes: Just 17 Net Additions in 9 Months
India's top five IT companies have dramatically slowed their hiring engines. In the first nine months of the 2025-26 financial year, they made only 17 net hires. This cautious approach marks a stark shift from the same period last year, when these firms added 17,764 employees.
A Sharp Contrast to Previous Years
The muted performance highlights how the hiring landscape has changed. AI-led delivery models are making companies leaner. In fact, recent acquisitions at some IT firms propped up headcount numbers. Without these acquisitions, net additions would likely be flat or even negative.
Headcount additions running into just the tens across these major firms continue to raise concerns for students. This reflects deep hiring restraint amid several factors.
- Macroeconomic uncertainty
- Pullbacks in discretionary spending
- AI-driven productivity pressures
Early signs show a decoupling of headcount growth from revenue.
Company-Specific Trends
TCS remained the biggest drag on overall numbers. It shed 25,816 employees in the first nine months of the current financial year. This followed its announcement to cut 2% of its workforce, or over 12,000 employees. The cuts largely impacted mid-level and senior executives.
Other companies showed varied performances.
- Infosys added 13,456 employees
- Wipro added 9,740 employees
- HCLTech added 1,885 employees
- Tech Mahindra added 752 employees
In the December quarter alone, the combined headcount of these five firms declined by 2,174 employees. TCS alone saw a sharp reduction of 11,151. However, Infosys and Wipro added 5,043 and 6,529 employees respectively during this quarter.
Structural Shift in the Industry
Phil Fersht, CEO of US-based IT advisory firm HfS Research, commented on the trend. He said the headline number is stark but reflects a structural shift rather than a cyclical pause. Fersht explained there is a fundamental move away from the historic pyramid-led growth model.
In the past, headcount expansion powered growth. Now, three converging forces are reshaping the IT services industry.
Discretionary spending remains under pressure. Clients are sweating existing assets and pushing harder on productivity.
AI and automation are starting to show up in delivery metrics. While AI is not yet driving large-scale revenue acceleration, it is clearly reducing the need for incremental hiring. This reduction is especially noticeable at junior and mid levels. This is where the decoupling between revenue and headcount is becoming visible.
Changing Recruitment Strategies
TCS refrained from calling out its 40,000 campus hiring number this year. It had done so in the past. This signals a more cautious stance on fresher recruitment.
Firms like TCS are actively rebalancing their workforce. The scale of reductions points to internal productivity resets, role consolidation, and a sharper focus on utilisation rather than growth-led hiring.
Organic growth across the IT sector remained anemic. Demand recovery is uneven, deal ramp-ups are slower, and discretionary spending is subdued. Margins on large deals continue to face pressure. Competitive pricing and higher productivity commitments limit profitability.
Global and Industry Perspectives
While global capability centres (GCCs) continued to add talent, hiring is no longer at the same pace as before. Industry experts note that recruitment is now highly selective and skill-specific.
Ray Wang, CEO of US-based Constellation Research, offered his analysis. He said a combination of exponential AI-driven efficiency and changing client expectations created a low-hire, low-fire environment.
Single-digit growth is not only being cheered but is becoming the new reality. Wang stated that services firms gaining the most ground are AI-first, AI-exponential players. These firms can exceed $100,000 in revenue per employee with around 25% digital labour. This mega trend has permanently reshaped the services industry landscape.
