India’s top IT firms face muted hiring in 9MFY26; net headcount down about 613

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• TCS saw a net headcount drop of 11,151 in Q3, offsetting sector hiring growth
• Infosys hired 13,456 in 9MFY26; Wipro and HCLTech also increased staff
• IT firms prioritizing AI skills, offering higher salaries for specialized talent

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Three of India’s top five IT services firms reported a sequential drop in net headcount for the quarter ended December 31, underscoring a mixed hiring trend across the sector. While Infosys and Wipro posted healthy net additions, Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) steep decline of 11,151 employees offset much of the overall hiring growth among major IT players.

On a nine-month hiring basis, country's largest IT services giant TCS - which is currently restructuring its workforce - has lost over 25,000 employees. Of this, about 7,800 were released as part of its ongoing workforce review expected to cut 2 per cent of jobs globally.

Infosys added over 13,000 employees, HCLTech added around 2, 595, Wipro hired 8,675 net employees and Tech Mahindra added 477 employees respectively over 9MFY26.

When compared to 9MFY25, the top five IT services majors' hiring plunged more than 105 per cent in 9MFY26.

Individually, in Q3, TCS saw its headcount decline by 11,151 employees on a net basis.

Infosys has added 5,043 employees, HCLTech's headcount declined marginally by 261, Wipro hired 6,529 employees while Tech Mahindra reported a decline of 3,098.

Shifting hiring strategies

As AI-driven revenue gains steam, IT companies are changing their hiring strategies focusing more on adding talent with specialised skill sets around AI and its adjacent technologies.

Most IT firms are ready to pay a premium too on their salaries.

TCS is hiring 'future ready' talent, as it charts its way to become the "world's largest AI-led tech services company".

Over the past year, TCS has doubled down on advisory and consulting talent across the big bets in areas like cybersecurity, enterprise solutions, cloud, AI and Data and positioning them closer to customers.

"Over 50% of our experienced hires are coming with next-gen skill sets. We hired significant number of AI-native fresh graduates. Our Initial Learning Program (ILP) has been enhanced to include Gen AI as an integral part of the curriculum. All trainees now have access to a comprehensive AI ecosystem of learning, hands-on  assessment platforms," Sudeep Kunnumal, CHRO, TCS said during the company’s post-earnings analyst call on January 12.

HCLTech has raised entry-level salaries for freshers with specialised skills sets in AI, with compensation packages going as high as Rs 18 to Rs 22 lakh per annum.

The company is internally calling this group of freshers, the 'elite cadre' of engineers who will be specialised in data and AI, digital engineering practice, cybersecurity practice, enterprise skills.

Ram Sundararajan, Chief People Officer said the 'elite' cadre would be roughly about 15-20 per cent of the overall fresher hiring target, as the company would focus on quality and specialisation over quantity.

Infosys too is set to launch an off-campus hiring drive for 2025 engineering and computer science graduates to recruit talent for specialised technology roles, with annual compensation ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 21 lakh.

Meanwhile, as of 9MFY26, Infosys has hired the highest number of employees in the Indian IT sector at 13,456.

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said, "Headcount increase demonstrates that we have confidence where the market is and where we are seeing demand."

Fresher hiring targets

Jayesh Sanghrajka, CFO, Infosys said the company had hired around 18,000 freshers, and is on track to onboard 20,000 freshers for the full year of FY26.

TCS plans to hire around 42,000 freshers in FY26, while adding more specialised entry-level talent.

In the post-Q3FY26 earnings press conference for Wipro Q3FY26, Chief Human Resource Officer Saurabh Govil said the company has already hired over 5,000 freshers so far this fiscal (Q3FY26).

"Our recruitment from campuses was muted. Next quarter, again, we'll be looking at the campuses. Hiring was more project-based across the globe, and skill-based," Govil said.

For HCLTech, total fresher addition for the fiscal year 2026 now stands at 10,032, which is almost two-thirds hirgher than what it had on boarded in the same period last year.

"That's one of the targets that we had set at the beginning of this fiscal that our fresher addition this year will be significantly higher compared to last year," Sundararajan said.

Tech Mahindra, which is on a business turnaround journey until FY27, remains more conservative in hiring this fiscal as it looks to improve margins and utilisation rates internally.

"We did have a lower level of fresh hires this year as compared to the previous year, but that's because of the demand environment. We've flagged it out," said Mohit Joshi, CEO and MD, Tech Mahindra.

He added, "Last financial year we've taken on 6,000 freshers. This year was lower than that."

As things stand, overall FY26 appears to be heading towards a muted hiring year while the industry is still adjusting to the new reality of AI-driven workforce and productivity gains.