Gloomy outlook for IT as cos slash staff

Headcount at India's top 10 IT firms employing a combined two million people fell by 76,572 last year, as companies retrenched workers in the face of a slowdown.

- Devina Sengupta & Varun Sood

According to staffing firms and job portals, hiring is not expected to pick up soon either, amid muted demand for technology services and rising fears of artificial intelligence eating into existing jobs.

Hitesh Oberoi, CEO of Info Edge India Ltd, which operates Naukri.com, said IT services companies went on a hiring binge during the two pandemic years, but a subsequent slowdown forced them to trim down.

"We didn't see any recovery in Q3. IT hiring was slow in Q3 as well. What we've been seeing for the last three quarters now is a serious slowdown in IT hiring," said Oberoi in a post-earnings interaction with analysts on 13 February. "They've (IT services firms) not been adding new people. In many cases, they've been letting people go." 

Oberoi's acknowledgment of retrenchment is the first comment by a boss of a job portal, a subject that none of the companies admit to. It is also significant because staffing firms and job portals including Naukri, Quess Corp and TeamLease Ltd are the first to offer people a role with companies in good times, making their commentary and performance a good leading indicator of the health of the sector.