24,422 fewer jobs: India's top 6 IT firms shrink in a year, says Xpheno
27 October 2026 · 2 min read · HireHo
Based on Xpheno data reported on 22 October 2026, summarised in HireHo's own words. Summarised in our own words.
Staffing firm Xpheno says the six largest listed Indian IT companies had 8,22,144 IT and engineering employees in October 2025. That number is now 7,97,722, a fall of 24,422 or 2.97%.
Exits are higher than hiring
In the 12 months to October 2026, about 92,000 people left these companies and about 68,000 were hired. Exits were higher than hiring in five of the last six months. Xpheno's chief executive Francis Padamadan said firms have not refilled every seat that was vacated.
A mixed September quarter
These are whole-company headcount changes for the quarter, as listed in the report.
- HCLTech added 6,450
- Tech Mahindra added 5,446
- TCS added 4,258
- Wipro cut 6,716
Where demand is growing
TeamLease Digital says hiring for AI, cloud, cybersecurity and specialist engineering roles grew about 16% in a year, while overall IT hiring fell about 3%.
What this means for you
- Fresh IT seats are fewer, so apply widely and do not wait for one big campus offer.
- Skills in AI, cloud and cybersecurity are still in demand. Short certified courses can help.
- Look at global capability centres (GCCs) too. See our earlier story on GCC hiring in 2026.
The data covers six large listed IT firms only, not the whole tech sector.