Indian IT Stocks in Focus; Top Five Firms Add 16,055 Employees in H1FY27 but Demand Recovery Remains Uncertain

The hiring numbers at India's biggest IT services companies have improved from last year, but the change needs some context. The five firms added 16,055 employees between April and September 2026, against just 3,097 in the same period a year earlier. 

TCS accounts for much of the difference. The company had cut 14,665 employees in H1FY26, but added 13,537 in the first half of the current financial year. Wipro went the other way, reporting a net reduction of 5,828 employees. 

TCS Reverses Last Year's Workforce Decline 

TCS added 4,258 employees in the September quarter, marking its third straight quarter of headcount growth. The company had laid off nearly 20,000 employees last year. 

Infosys added 3,948 employees in the first half, including 4,480 in the second quarter after a nearly flat first quarter.  

HCLTech recorded a net addition of 3,158, while Tech Mahindra added 1,240. Both companies saw their headcounts rise, though their additions were lower than Infosys and TCS. 

Campus Recruitment Continues 

Freshers made up 60–65% of net new hiring across the five companies, according to UnearthInsights. The firms together added more than 12,000–13,000 fresh graduates. 

Infosys hired 8,000 freshers in the first half and expects to reach 20,000 for the full year. TCS expects to hire 25,000.  

Wipro, which has hired around 1,000 engineering graduates so far, plans to step up campus recruitment in the second half and approach last year's intake of 7,500. 

Traditional IT Roles Face Pressure 

Gaurav Vasu of UnearthInsights said the first-half additions were not evidence of a broad recovery in demand. He estimated that the five companies could add fewer than 30,000–40,000 employees over the full year. 

Demand for AI, cloud, cybersecurity and specialised engineering talent, however, was growing at around 16% year-on-year, even as overall IT hiring declined by 3%. 

Read More: India Post Reports 25% Revenue Growth to ₹4,202 Crore in Q2 FY27! 

Conclusion 

The rise in headcount has been driven largely by TCS, while Wipro continues to reduce staff. The figures point to a changing hiring mix rather than a broad-based recovery across India's IT services industry. 

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