Thousands of IT employees in India are out of work. The cuts span homegrown giants like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, as well as global firms such as Accenture, Oracle, IBM, and Capgemini. Companies say they are reshaping themselves for AI, cloud, and product-focused services. Analysts, however, warn that deeper forces are at play.
In 2023–24, India’s IT and ITeS exports touched around USD 199 billion, accounting for 25.6% of total exports worth USD 778.2 billion. For 2024–25, exports are projected to reach USD 224 billion—about 27% of total estimated exports of USD 824.9 billion. The sector remains a pillar of India’s export economy, even as layoffs mount.
TCS trimmed 12,000 roles—about 2% of its workforce—for “organisational restructuring to become future-ready and agile.” Infosys laid off 25,994 employees in FY24 for “workforce optimisation amid volatile demand.” Wipro removed 24,516 jobs to improve “cost efficiency and productivity.”
Tech Mahindra cut 10,669 positions for “portfolio rebalancing.” Oracle India reduced over 100 roles in September 2025 to support its “AI-driven product strategy.” HCLTech shed 8,080 employees largely due to divestitures and realignments. Accenture’s global cuts of 11,000 roles included a significant impact on India, aimed at “reinvesting in AI and digital transformation.”
Cognizant eliminated 3,500 positions globally to “simplify organisation and improve delivery speed.” IBM India dropped around 1,000 roles during its pivot to hybrid cloud and AI, while Capgemini India cut 800 jobs to align with “evolving client demand.”
Analysts say the story runs deeper. After a hiring boom in 2021–22, global demand cooled. Projects were scaled back or delayed. Automation and AI began replacing repetitive tasks. Clients are shifting from labour-intensive outsourcing to outcome-based models.
Lower-cost hubs like Vietnam, the Philippines, and parts of Africa are taking over simpler services. Many roles now require cloud, AI, and data skills—capabilities that a large share of the workforce does not yet possess.
The trend is not confined to India; it has a global footprint. Microsoft, Intel, Salesforce, SAP, and other tech giants have also cut thousands of jobs in 2024–25. Many of these global cuts ripple into India, where shared services, engineering, and support hubs are based.
NASSCOM warns that the sector is at a turning point. Continued AI adoption will shrink routine and mid-level roles. Labour economists and unions say hundreds of thousands of mid-level tech jobs could disappear without large-scale reskilling.
Is India losing its cost advantage? Not entirely. Wages have risen, and AI reduces labour requirements. In low-skill, repetitive work, India is losing its edge to newer, cheaper hubs. But for complex engineering, product development, and domain-specific work, India remains competitive—thanks to its large talent pool, mature delivery ecosystem, global capability centres, and strong English-language skills.
AI is undoubtedly a key driver of the shift. Accenture, IBM, and TCS acknowledge that AI changes the required skill sets and makes tasks faster and leaner. But AI is not the only factor. Weak client demand, margin pressure, past over-hiring, and competition from new geographies also contribute.
The next few years will test India’s IT sector. Routine roles may shrink further, but new positions in AI architecture, design, and product development could absorb displaced workers—if reskilling keeps pace. The sector is not collapsing; it is restructuring for the AI era.