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56,000 Layoffs and Counting: India's It Bloodbath This Year May Just Be the Start


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Nearly one-third of low-skilled workers in India's IT sector stand to lose their jobs by 2022, according to a recent report.

Credit: Reuters

Once a top employment generator, India's $160 billion IT industry laid off more than 56,000 employees this year. Meanwhile, hiring plummeted, with entry-level openings having more than halved in 2017, experts say.

Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, two of India's largest IT companies and once leaders in job creation, reduced their headcounts for the first time ever. Compared to the normal rate of forced attrition (i.e. asking non-performers to leave) of around 1% in earlier years, 2017 saw Indian IT companies letting go of between 2% and 6% of their employees, says Alka Dhingra, general manager of IT staffing at TeamLease Services.

On the hiring front, too, bad news abounded. In 2017, campus hiring by IT companies fell by a massive 50-70%, says Santanu Paul, CEO and managing director at skills training firm TalentSprint.

From Quartz
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