Debasis Mohapatra
Bengaluru, 1 April 2025
Indian IT industry has traditionally hired thousands of freshers from engineering colleges for more than two decades now. But recent developments in the AI space coupled with tepid demand in the global technology industry have put such massive hiring drive on hold.
According to industry experts, the sweeping wave of AI (artificial intelligence) applications & solutions is automating many tasks that entry-level IT workers traditionally execute. As these tasks are being automated, companies require less number of freshers in the system. Such phenomena have led to low campus placement of engineering graduates in FY25.
“The traditional pyramid shape of Indian IT industry is going through a change now. Demand for entry-level workers is going down while IT firms require more experienced engineering talent,” Pareekh Jain, an IT outsourcing advisor & Founder of Pareekh Consulting told the Data Biz Times.
Such low sentiment in hiring has been visible throughout FY25 in the Indian IT industry. Many firms have delayed onboarding of freshers even after doling our offer letters two year back. Not only that, some companies fired interns (freshers who undergo training before final placement) by raising the bar of acceptance.
“AI is definitely making many work load automated. So, we have to see how fresher hiring pans out in the coming quarters,” Supaul Chanda, President (Staffing) of HR staffing firm, Galent told the Data Biz Times.
Interestingly, top Indian IT firms including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech have given bullish hiring estimates post their Q3 earnings in January 2025. While TCS has reportedly said it will hire around 40,000 freshers; Infosys plans to hire more than 20,000 in FY26. Wipro, another tech major, plans to hire around 12,000 freshers in the current financial year. It has to be seen whether these estimates hold any water when Q4 earnings come up starting mid April.
