As of January 2026, the number of active job openings stood at 103,000, down 24 per cent from 136,000 in the same period last year.
'Companies will need to revisit compensation structures, contracts, staffing models, and human resources system.'
'Advanced skills is such a broad spectrum that a simple prompt engineer to a critical upper end LLM developer are clubbed under one.' 'In addition, some include their non-technical employees who can use AI tools under this talent base.'
'People are taking effort to train and adapt to current skills.' 'If that is not there, they are not useful to us.' 'They have to adapt to new technology, and what is important is learnability.'
Companies typically face challenges in recruiting candidates who are skilled in AI, machine learning and generative artificial intelligence though they have hundreds of vacancies.
'As more and more work becomes automated and a range of lower-level and higher-level tasks are replaced by AI, the need for a classic command-and-control pyramid structure goes away.'
While TCS cited evolving business needs and future readiness as reasons, industry experts say the action is a cost-cutting measure aimed at improving operating margins that have remained below the firm's aspirational range despite multiple efforts.
IT attrition rate is expected to be around 12% to 13% this year.
The good news is that salary hikes are expected, though it is uncertain when they will be implemented.
With the rush of growth after the pandemic slowing down, many leaders are moving to firms that may be smaller but are growing much faster and have the headroom to grow.
While praising the internship scheme announced in the Budget, India Inc wants clarity on how it will be implemented. The scheme is expected to help companies address the skill gap in employment. Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, auto major Ashok Leyland, said: "We had started an internship programme at our plant in Pantnagar, which we established in 2010 with colleges there.
These sites have become Gen Y's lobbying force at workplace.
Kamal Karanth, managing director of Kelly Services, a global staffing and research company, talks to Urmila Rao about the various facets of temp roles for youngsters.
In 2024 so far, 20 startups have already visited the campus with 80 placements.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services firm, is planning to increase salaries by an average of 7-8 per cent for its offsite employees and 2-4 per cent for its onsite staffers in 2024-25. High performers can expect a raise of 12-15 per cent. The company, which had a headcount of 603,305 as of December 31, 2023, will be closely looking at the promotions and the process may also get pushed to the first quarter of FY25, revealed a source on condition of anonymity, because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
As the job markets open up, top IT services firms may look at a tiered strategy in which they hire entry-level talents at higher salaries, amid a major technological shift, say HR analysts.
The company already had set up an office in Shanghai which it plans to operationalise by December this year, Kamal Karanth, Head of APAC operations, Ma Foi, told PTI.
'It is a sign of a bigger problem which is coming in the next six months.'
Manisha Sharma (name changed) was always among the high achievers in her company. She was recognised and rewarded for those efforts as well. Mid-December 2022, however, she received a jolt: an email informing her that she had been laid off - along with several of her colleagues. Sharma worked for a big tech firm, which had decided to downsize. And just like that, she was asked to go. "It did come as a shock," she says. "I did not take calls for the first two days, but then realised there is no point in beating oneself up for a situation that's not in your hand. "I thought let this be an opportunity to take a break. I'll now start looking for a job," she adds.
The advent of online talent communities and online job boards not only helps companies to find the right talent, it also helps employees to have more information about their preferred places to work.
As many as 65 per cent of respondents have positive expectations from the budget and believe that it will succeed in giving a definite push to economic growth and job creation, a survey has said.
Apart from skill development, employees are considering work-life balance.
'Make in India'presents a huge opportunity for jobs.
'Enterprises have become more demanding in terms of their productivity expectation from their employees.'
Improving economy and investment in Indian carriers and hotels by global companies is likely to lead to hiring for aviation and hospitality sectors witnessing up to 40 per cent growth in 2015, according to experts.
There has also been a shift from hiring freshers to those with two to five years' experience.
More activity in the IT, health care, services sectors; manufacturing firms keeping fingers crossed.
The 'Shatrughan Sinha of the South' plunges into politics.
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