Friday, August 14
India’s top five IT companies added just 17 net employees in the first nine months of the 2025-26 financial year, sharply slowing hiring as they turned cautious. This compares with 17,764 net additions in the same period last year. The shift reflects tighter demand, pressure on discretionary spending, and the growing use of AI-led delivery models that reduce the need for fresh hiring.The slowdown meant that headcount gains at several firms were supported mainly by acquisitions. Without these, net additions would have been flat or negative at some companies. Across the top five firms, additions were limited to just tens of employees, raising concerns for students and fresh graduates entering the job market.According to a report by TOI's Veena Mani & Shilpa Phadnis, TCS emerged as the
