India’s biggest IT services companies are still hiring thousands of fresh graduates and have reported stabilising attrition in FY26 so far. However, some firms have seen their total employee numbers fall year-on-year as automation and artificial intelligence reduce demand for mid-skill roles and drive restructuring.
Three of India’s top five IT services companies reported a sequential decline in net headcount in the December quarter. Strong additions at Infosys and Wipro were offset by a sharp workforce reduction at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), highlighting uneven hiring trends across the sector.
TCS reported a net decline of 11,151 employees in the December quarter sequentially. Tech Mahindra employees' count fell by 3,098 in Q3 sequentially and HCLTech’s headcount fell marginally by 261 during the quarter. Meanwhile, Infosys added 5,043 employees during the quarter and Wipro reported net additions of 6,529 employees.
Despite these differences, all five companies reported lower or stable attrition. Infosys reported voluntary attrition of 12.3% on a trailing 12-month basis, HCLTech reported 12.4%, TCS reported 13.5% in IT services, and Wipro reported 14.2%, each down roughly 50–100 basis points compared to last year.
Restructuring
Most IT companies in India are currently unfolding their restructuring plans, which are described as a move from a scale-and-manpower model to an efficiency-and-automation model.
Several firms highlighted restructuring-related actions and costs during FY26. TCS said its workforce review led to the release of about 1,800 employees during the year so far and would continue into the next quarter.
“We continue to hire and seek for top talent, both from the lateral market and from the campuses as well. What we had announced as part of the restructuring, we continue to look for support people with deployment in the future roles. And wherever we are not finding success, we are releasing,” TCS management said during the Q3 press conference, adding that the exercise would continue into the next quarter but that the company was “not really going after numbers.”
TCS incurred restructuring costs of Rs 253 crore in the December quarter, 77% lower than the Rs 1,135 crore recorded in the previous quarter. Wipro said it incurred restructuring charges of Rs 263 crore during the December quarter, and confirmed that the exercise is complete. HCLTech said its operating margin included an impact from restructuring costs linked to skill realignment. Infosys said productivity gains from AI and automation are changing delivery models, allowing work to be done with fewer people.
Fresher Hiring
Meanwhile, fresher hiring has continued at scale. Infosys hired around 18,000 freshers so far in FY26 and expects about 20,000 for the year. TCS plans to hire around 42,000 freshers, HCLTech has added over 10,000, and Wipro has hired over 5,000 and plans to hire around 7,500 in FY26.
Companies said hiring is now more selective and skill-based. Firms also said demand is stable, but future workforce growth will be slower and more specialised as AI changes how technology services are delivered.