India’s IT headcount to dip amid macroeconomic struggles
NEW DELHI, INDIA — Top IT companies in India are expected to witness a decline in their workforce during the quarter ending in June as client addition slows amidst challenging macroeconomic circumstances.
According to experts, the hiring squeeze is largely attributed to a heightened emphasis on enhancing efficiency and margins.
Over 5,600 jobs were shed by the top five Indian IT giants in the quarter that concluded in March. This was on the heels of a reduction of approximately 5,000 jobs in the quarter ending in December.
Sunil C, Chief Executive of online job portal TeamLease Digital, said that the downward trend could continue as tech companies focus on controlling attrition and improving utilization.
TeamLease anticipates that by the end of the fiscal second quarter, most of these firms will exhaust their existing resources and require new talent.
The downturn in hiring has also affected employee onboarding, with several firms opting to delay fresher and lateral hiring until they gain clarity on client requirements.
A.R. Ramesh, Director – Managed Services and Professional Staffing at Adecco India, added that the IT services talent market continues to be strained with no immediate signs of recovery. However, he mentioned that the demand for temporary workers is holding up reasonably well in comparison.
Major IT companies such as Wipto and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have noted the volatile global environment concerning technology spending in their annual reports. Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji’s compensation fell nearly 50% in FY23 due to underperformance by the IT Services business, while the salaries of its new hires dropped to about half of what they were initially offered.
At the same time, TCS expanded its partnership with Google Cloud and introduced TCS Generative AI to foster rapid growth and transformation for clients amid its headcount issues.
Despite the challenges, Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of Manpower Group India, noted that approximately 36% of employers still intend to hire more resources in the July-September quarter.
