Why Persistent Systems is skipping campus hiring for FY27?

Persistent Systems has decided to skip campus recruitment for FY27 and prioritise lateral hiring to better align its workforce with evolving client demand, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), Moneycontrol reported. The IT services company reported a 13.7% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹483.04 crore for the April-June quarter.

“We have been hiring, but this is not campus hiring. We are hiring laterals in line with our demand because we want to train people who have the basic skills in AI," CEO Sandeep Kalra told Moneycontrol.

The company said customers continue to remain cautious with discretionary technology spending, even as investments in AI gather pace.

“Customers have continued to keep their technology budgets tight when it comes to discretionary spending. They are repurposing existing technology budgets to spend on AI, while overall spending is only seeing an incremental increase of 1–2 percent," Kalra was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

AI reshapes hiring strategies

Persistent Systems' decision comes as companies increasingly reassess campus recruitment plans, with AI changing workforce requirements and prompting employers to favour experienced professionals who already possess foundational AI skills.

The shift marks one of the clearest signs yet that AI is beginning to reshape entry-level hiring across India's technology sector, with companies focusing on lateral recruitment while slowing fresh graduate intake.

Campus hiring slows as uncertainty grows

The changing recruitment strategy is not limited to Persistent Systems. Several companies have begun revising hiring and internship plans amid the twin pressures of AI-led productivity gains and geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the conflict in West Asia.

Software testing platform BrowserStack has withdrawn job offers made to some engineering students from the 2026 graduating batch, citing significant productivity improvements driven by AI within its product and engineering teams, Mint had reported earlier. The company said the decision was difficult but was communicated early so affected students could explore other opportunities. It also said those candidates would receive priority consideration if suitable roles become available in the future.

While the company did not disclose the number of students affected, it said it remains on track to onboard more than 15 MBA graduates, even as the number of impacted engineering students is understood to be higher.

B-schools prepare for cautious hiring

Leading management institutes are also monitoring the evolving employment landscape. Other IIMs are preparing for the uncertainties as well.

“The main challenge we are navigating right now is the risk of delayed onboarding as companies naturally take a more cautious approach to new project kickoffs,” sa Himanshu Rai, director of IIM Indore, told Mint.

The B-school said it is “keeping a close, proactive dialogue with our corporate HR partners to solidify start dates and ensure the batch is supported and protected from any sudden market shifts”. IIM Indore clarified that their final placements for the batch of 2026 have not faced any “major concerns or lingering challenges.”

The broader hiring environment is becoming increasingly cautious as companies balance AI investments with slower growth in discretionary technology spending. While overall technology budgets continue to rise marginally, businesses are redirecting existing spending towards AI initiatives rather than expanding recruitment, signalling that campus hiring could remain under pressure in the near term.