India IT Services Shrinks Bench Strength Significantly
India's IT services sector is reporting a marked reduction in bench strength, industry experts told ET on March 31, 2026. The pooled bench across TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra declined by roughly 75,000 people over two years to about 225,000, shrinking from over 20% to 8–15%. Firms cite slower growth, local hiring and tighter bench policies, shifting demand toward AI and cloud roles.
Key Points
- 1Reports show bench across top Indian IT firms fell about 75,000 workers, now 8–15%
- 2Firms cite weaker demand, increased local hiring, and tighter bench policies reducing buffers
- 3Impacts hiring: mid-level roles down 20–30%, AI/cloud roles up 30–40%, placement times lengthen
Scoring Rationale
Timely ET reporting with concrete numbers and multiple expert quotes gives strong credibility and industry-wide scope. Score reflects significant labour-market shift and actionable hiring implications, slightly tempered by limited in-depth causal analysis.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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