IT cos may recruit 40% fewer freshers in FY24
2 min read 23 May 2023, 11:00 PM ISTIndia’s IT companies will slash campus hiring by at least 40% on the back of robust bench strength, reduced client orders and poor visibility of when the recessionary phase will pass, an analysis by recruitment firm TeamLease Digital found
PremiumMUMBAI : India’s IT companies will slash campus hiring by at least 40% on the back of robust bench strength, reduced client orders and poor visibility of when the recessionary phase will pass, an analysis by recruitment firm TeamLease Digital found.
IT firms are expected to hire about 155,000 students from the 2024 batch of engineering campuses compared to 230,000 from the batch of 2023.
“We are choosing not to go to campus as we want to first honour the offers, we have made," said Saurabh Govil, chief human resource officer, Wipro, said in an email response to a question. Govil explained that the “talent environment today is different from what it was a year ago. The race to hire ahead of demand has been replaced by a more measured approach in light of the declining attrition rates and the ongoing economic uncertainty".
In FY23, Wipro was expected to hire 23,000 but there have been delays in onboarding and the company has stressed that it will honour all job offers.
The drop in demand for IT firms is a 180 degree turn from even two years ago when the hiring frenzy had just begun. According to Teamlease Digital’s data, IT firms are projected to hire 155,000 students in FY24, chief executive officer (CEO) Sunil Chemmankotil said. This is almost a 48% drop from 230,000 recruited in FY23. The decline is stark when the hiring by IT sector was 600,000 in FY22 (during the boom period after more than a year of the pandemic).
HR firms studying the demand and supply of talent cautioned that it is crucial to continue hiring from campuses to gain cost leverage. “It is imperative for companies to recognize that once the markets regain stability, there will be a demand for entry-level manpower, and sourcing talent externally will prove to be a costly endeavour," said A.R. Ramesh, director of digital business solutions, professional staffing and international engagement of Adecco India. He estimates a 40-50% decline in campus hiring from IT firms due to the prevailing hiring sentiment.
Infosys said it had hired 51,000 freshers last year and has leeway for the next few quarters in terms of the availability of freshers. “We actually had...hired 51,000-odd last year. And a lot of them on the bench are getting skilled, are getting trained...So, we have no specific number for FY’24 at this stage. We have enough, actually, today sitting on the bench," chief financial officer Nilanjan Roy said in a post earnings call this April.
Tata Consultancy Services’ chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad told Mint in April that the largest IT firm will head to campus in FY24 to recruit 40,000 who would, in turn, be used to fill exits. “Attrition is definitely going to come down, but will still be there you know. 13-14% (attrition) for our company side is still a big number. So we have to backfill some of it," Lakkad said.
TCS’s attrition in the January-March quarter was 20.1% and it hired 110,000 freshers in FY22 and according to reports onboarded 44,000 in FY23. Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, for IT industry body Nasscom said the uncertain business environment has caused businesses to rethink their decisions, including resolving issues related to over-hiring, to stay resilient.
