The country’s top four IT services firms are approaching FY26 with conservative yet steady hiring plans, signalling a measured return to workforce expansion after a year of mixed performance. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, and Wipro are all planning to onboard freshers in FY26 at levels comparable to or exceeding those in FY25. Meanwhile, HCLTech, while registering a net decline in headcount last year due to divestiture, is shifting to a quarterly hiring model and aiming to outpace its previous year’s additions.
TCS expects to hire 40,000 freshers in FY26, continuing its stable intake pattern from the previous year. Infosys has set a goal of hiring over 20,000 fresh graduates, doubling down on fresher recruitment. Wipro, also remains committed to a consistent hiring approach, targeting between 10,000 and 12,000 freshers, in line with last year’s numbers.
HCLTech, which had originally set a modest target of 7,000 freshers in FY25 but exceeded it with 7,829 new graduate hires, is now adapting to the volatile business climate by planning on a quarterly basis. “We are not trying to define an annual plan in the current climate. It’s more prudent to make plans quarterly,” said Ramachandran Sundararajan, chief people officer at HCLTech. The company aims to hire 2,000 employees every quarter in FY26, a pace that would result in a significantly higher annual total than the previous year, provided market conditions remain stable.
This cautious optimism contrasts with the employment trajectory seen in FY25. While TCS, Infosys, and Wipro managed modest net additions to their workforce by the end of the fiscal year, HCLTech saw an overall decline. TCS added 6,433 employees over the year, ending FY25 with a total headcount of 607,979, reversing the trend of workforce reduction seen in earlier quarters. Infosys grew its workforce to 323,578 with an annual increase of 6,338, while Wipro reported a smaller net gain of 732 employees, finishing the year with 233,346 on its rolls.
HCLTech ended FY25 with 223,420 employees, down by 4,061 compared to FY24. The reduction was primarily due to the exit of 7,398 employees as part of a planned business divestiture. However, the company still managed to add 2,665 employees in the final quarter, indicating a recovery in hiring momentum.
Attrition remained a concern for all four companies in the March quarter, with rates inching upward. Infosys reported an attrition rate of 14.1%, up from 13.7% in the previous quarter. TCS also saw a marginal increase to 13.3%. Milind Lakkad, chief human resources officer at TCS, noted that while attrition has ticked up for three straight quarters, the annualised figure is still down significantly from its peak in the second quarter of FY23. Wipro, by contrast, reported a decline in attrition on a trailing twelve-month basis, with improved employee utilisation aiding its efforts to control costs and boost margins. HCLTech’s attrition inched tad down to 13% and the company maintained its focus on fresher hiring and operational efficiency.
Analysts said that the IT firms seem to be calibrating their workforce strategies in response to ongoing global uncertainties. While the hiring plans signal confidence in the long-term demand for digital services, the shift to more flexible, quarterly-based approaches and cautious volume targets reflect the industry’s measured stance, they added.