BENGALURU: India’s $254-billion IT sector has witnessed a structural shift in its operational model while navigating evolving technological landscapes. This demonstrated a departure from the conventional barometer of relying on headcount-linked growth as low-to-medium complexity tasks get automated.
In the Dec quarter, the top five Indian IT firms saw a collective net headcount reduction, which stood at 2,587, contrasting sharply with the Sept quarter’s addition of 15,033 employees. While Infosys and HCLTech managed to add 7,725 people, their counterparts TCS, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra saw a decline in their workforce strength. During the Dec quarter of FY24, these five IT firms saw their headcount drop by 12,132. The net addition in the March quarter of FY24 saw a collective headcount decline by 12,600.
With less than a quarter before FY25 financial year ends, industry experts believe that the IT sector would be adding less than a fourth of what it added in the previous fiscal year. Last fiscal year, the Indian IT sector saw a net addition of 60,000 people, taking the total tally to 5.4 million.
IT industry body Nasscom did not break this up but given that the big IT firms saw a decline in headcount, much of the net addition was on account of global capability centres (GCCs). TOI has reported that GCCs will outshine IT firms in terms of net addition for the second consecutive year.
Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder and executive chairman of the Everest Group, points out that during Covid, the entire industry stocked up on talent. This resulted in the industry dramatically reducing hiring and allowing attrition to rebalance their talent stocks.
As IT firms saw revenue productivity increase amid lower headcount, HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar said adding headcount may not necessarily keep pace with revenue growth. He emphasised that the IT industry’s requirement for skilled professionals will continue to rise steadily, leading to higher billing rates.
