No layoffs at Infosys: IT giant’s hiring and upskilling drive offers hope as TCS slashes 12,000 jobs
In contrast to TCS’s sweeping job cuts, Infosys is taking a different path, as CEO Salil Parekh has made it clear that layoffs are not on the agenda.
Additionally, Infosys’s strategy isn’t limited to hiring.
“We recruited over 17,000 people (gross hiring) in the first quarter and plan to bring in about 20,000 college graduates this year,” said Parekh, according to aTimes of India report.
Parekh's statement came at a time when it was feared that other major IT players might follow suit.
Infosys has trained more than 275,000 employees in artificial intelligence at varying levels, positioning this investment as a buffer against the headwinds affecting the industry.
The firm is sharpening its focus on skills in AI, cloud computing, and enterprise platforms—making these the backbone of its workforce model.
“We’ve been deeply focused on AI transformation, whether it’s building AI agents or developing smaller language models internally,” Parekh said.
Infosys is also looking inward to create opportunities by consolidating client relationships, a move that mirrors its approach during its previous digital transformation—realigning teams toward emerging demand.
The company recently updated its FY26 guidance, nudging the lower end of its growth estimate from 0% to 1%. The revised range of 1% to 3% in constant currency may appear modest but reflects current market headwinds.
“If you look globally — especially in Europe and the US — macroeconomic shifts are either stabilising or still playing out,” Parekh noted. “My view is that as these trends mature and the environment becomes more stable, we will return to stronger expansion.”
Infosys views this phase not as a decline but as a structural adjustment, with steady demand in areas like data transformation and process innovation.
As automation grows, industry analysts have questioned the viability of traditional talent models like the bench system and pyramid hiring. Parekh acknowledged the shift but sees opportunity.
“There are clear changes in the business model, but they also open new opportunities. AI allows for deeper automation and insights but also demands higher-level skills and more effort,” he said.
Infosys maintains that its utilisation model is sound and continues to align staffing with project demand.
Its graduate hiring funnel feeds into this structure, ensuring delivery capabilities are intact.
Despite productivity improvements through AI and automation—ranging from 5% to 15% in software development, and even more in customer service—Parekh stressed that humans remain integral to complex systems.
Infosys’s Finacle banking platform, for instance, has seen productivity rise by 20% through the blend of automation and human supervision.
On compensation, Infosys has stuck to its usual cycle.
Salary hikes were processed in Q4 and Q1, and no change is expected in the upcoming cycle.
The net addition of just 210 employees in the last quarter stands in contrast to previous years. Still, the company remains committed to its goal of hiring 20,000 graduates in 2025.
“Our utilisation is healthy, and our cautious approach reflects macro conditions. As the outlook becomes more stable, hiring will adjust accordingly,” Parekh said.
Balancing capacity with demand remains key. For now, Infosys believes it has found the right rhythm.
It is also deepening partnerships with Global Capability Centres (GCCs), aiding clients in their AI journey and digital overhaul.
“We bring deep institutional knowledge and work closely with clients to scale GCC operations, implement AI, and roll out next-gen technologies,” said Parekh.
Verticals are now being managed with more collaboration, and the company offers bespoke solutions ranging from SaaS launches to public cloud migrations, depending on client needs.
Tata Consultancy Services has adopted a different strategy to deal with waning global demand and growing automation. Sparking unease across India’s tech sector, the company began laying off over 12,000 employees in what marks its largest workforce reduction in several years,
The job cuts are concentrated among mid- and senior-level staff and account for about 2% of TCS's total employee base. The scale and suddenness mark a significant departure for a company long viewed as a pillar of stability and steady expansion.
“The continued global macro-economic and geo-political uncertainties caused a demand contraction,” said TCS CEO and MD K Krithivasan, reported TOI.
The move highlights an evolving reality in India’s IT industry, where long-standing assumptions around job security are being questioned.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
