IT firms have started to ramp up hiring as tech spends are expected to return. But mirroring the overall uncertainty that continues to prevail in the market, the uptick in hiring is muted. 

Anticipating more business in the future, the Indian IT industry is hiring more associates in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, but these numbers pale in comparison to the hiring that took place before the pandemic or even on a two year basis.

According to the staffing firm Teamlease, the Indian IT sector will ramp up hiring by 12-15 per cent on a year on year basis in Q1FY25. 

Of the three big IT firms that have reported results so far only Tata Consultancy Services has reported a positive net addition to its headcount during this results season. Infosys and HCL Tech continue to report negative additions to their headcount. 

TCS improved its headcount by 5,452 employees as it added nearly 11,000 new associates in the June quarter. Net positive addition came after India’s largest IT firm had reduced its headcount back to back in three consecutive quarters. However these numbers pale in comparison to the nearly 14,000 employees that TCS added to its headcount overall in Q1FY23, at a time when attrition at the IT firm was at an all time high as well. 

Infosys headcount

Infosys which reported its results on Thursday continues to reduce its headcount. In Q1FY25, Infosys reduced its headcount by nearly 1,900 associates. At the end of FY24, Infosys had reduced its headcount by nearly 26,000 associates. 

HCL Tech reduced its headcount by nearly 8,000 associates in Q1FY25, hiring 1,078 freshers. In the previous quarter, the IT firm had added nearly 2,000 associates on net, and hired more than 3,000 freshers. 

businessline had reported in April that the top 3 Indian IT firms reported a dip in headcount in FY24, for the first time in a decade. However as the Indian IT sector continued to bag major deals, and foresaw FY25 to be much better for business it was anticipated that hiring would pick up again. But given that uncertainties such as the US elections continue to loom, the timeline by which tech spends will return is not completely clear. Thus hiring in the Indian IT sector continues to be in a limbo according to experts.