Top global IT firms halt hiring in India
Experts believe that things unlikely to change in this respect during the second half of FY24
If you see, hiring in the international IT firms has come down to next to nothing. Overall, sentiment remains very subdued in the technology hiring space - a top official of a Bengaluru-based staffing firm
No IT jobs for now
- Many global firms cutting down staffers in recent months
- Accenture to cut 19k jobs, not to pay hikes in India, Sri Lanka in 2023
- Hiring at IBM, Capgemini, and many others also very low
- Involuntary attrition happening in domestic IT firms
Bengaluru: Hiring by top international IT firms operating in India, such as Accenture, IBM, and Capgemini, has come to a standstill amid an uncertain global economic environment.
Sources familiar with the matter say that some replacement hiring is still happening among domestic IT services providers, but at a much lower rate than their international counterparts.
“If you see, hiring in the international IT firms has come down to next to nothing. As compared to it, domestic IT firms are doing a bit of replacement hiring. Overall, sentiment remains very subdued in the technology hiring space,” said a top official of a Bengaluru-headquartered staffing firm.
According to him, many international IT firms are rather reducing their headcount as announced by them in past quarters in order to save cost.
For instance, Accenture had announced in March this year to cut 19,000 jobs in its bid to navigate a difficult economic environment. The company has recently said that it would not be paying hikes to its employees in India and Sri Lanka in 2023, except where it is legally mandated or where it has committed to it in critical skill areas.
“Given the context of our performance, we will not be providing any stay-at-level (base pay) increases this year except where legally mandated or committed in a few critical skill area,” the company has said in an email to its employees.
Similarly, hiring in other international IT firms with large Indian presence like IBM, Capgemini, and many others remain very low in the last quarter. Experts are of the opinion that things are unlikely to change in this respect during the second half of ongoing financial year.
Meanwhile, Indian IT firms are only conducting need-based hiring for critical skillsets along with replacement hiring.
According to reports, hiring by nine out of 10 Indian IT companies fell in the July-September quarter, making it the first time when overall headcount has shrunk in 25 years.
Top four IT firms- Tata Consultancy Service, Infosys, HCL Tech and Wipro- have cumulatively cut their workforce by about 38,950 employees in the first half of this fiscal.
“Involuntary attrition is happening in the IT industry where staffers are being asked to leave on performance ground. Though Indian IT firms are not announcing publicly about cutting down employee count like their international counterparts, it is very much happening in recent months,” said another person familiar with the development.
