HCLTech’s headcount fell by 269 employees sequentially in the April–June quarter to 223, 151, reflecting a cautious approach amid ongoing restructuring efforts and a delayed ramp-up in client projects.
The company reported a drop in utilisation and a higher bench in the quarter. It attributed the former to delayed ramp-up of a large deal and the latter to recent productivity gains.
The company added 1,984 freshers during the quarter. Chief people officer Ramachandran Sundararajan added that the emphasis is now firmly on hiring freshers with specialised skills across areas like data and AI, digital engineering, enterprise solutions, and cybersecurity.
These recruits, categorised as ‘elite’, command a compensation premium — as high as 3 times in business services and up to 4 times in software roles — compared to regular campus hires, he said.
“Specialised hiring will continue to be a key part of our fresher intake. We’re not chasing volume, but we do expect 15–20% of our total fresher intake to come from this category based on current trends,” he said, adding that this share could rise going forward.
HCLTech also indicated that its FY26 restructuring programme would include both people and non-people assets, with a ramp-down of talent in geographies outside India. It however did not specify the quantum of talent ramp-down, or the geographies that would be impacted.
Meanwhile, attrition stood at 12.8%, lower than 13% reported in the previous quarter.
Sundararajan added that HCLTech’s investments in AI skilling have gathered pace, with over 127,000 employees now trained and certified as GenAI users, including 42,000 with advanced proficiency and 12,000 practitioners actively working on GenAI-led engagements.
Lateral hiring, HCLTech added, remains demand-linked and will likely vary through the year depending on project starts and pipeline conversion.