New Delhi: The Indian IT services sector experienced a decline in employee numbers during the last fiscal year (FY24), attributed to subdued revenue growth amidst global macroeconomic challenges.
Key players such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and Tech Mahindra reported significant reductions in their workforce during FY24.
Infosys saw a decline of 25,994 employees, while TCS witnessed a reduction of 13,249 in their headcount during the same period.
Wipro reported a decrease of 6,180 employees in the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY24, leading to a full-year reduction of 24,516 in their workforce.
Similarly, Tech Mahindra recorded a decrease of 795 employees on a quarterly basis and 6,945 on an annual basis, with a total headcount of 145,455 in FY24.
However, HCLTech was an exception with a net addition of 1,537 employees, bringing its total headcount to 227,481 during the last fiscal year.
According to a recent Crisil Ratings report, the Indian IT services sector is anticipated to witness subdued revenue growth for the second consecutive year, projected at 5-7 per cent in FY25.
The report highlights that as revenue growth remains muted, IT service companies have scaled back on fresh talent additions, resulting in a 4 per cent reduction in headcount year-on-year as of December 2023.
Aditya Jhaver, Director at CRISIL Ratings, emphasized that the slowdown in technology spending is expected to persist in the current fiscal year, impacting the revenue growth of IT service providers. He further noted that sectors such as BFSI and retail are likely to witness subdued growth of 4-5 per cent, while manufacturing and healthcare are projected to experience healthier growth rates of 9-10 per cent.