Big tech companies in India near hiring pause amid global turmoil

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

These companies — Facebook (Meta Platforms), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) -registered a 90% drop in active job postings in India in 2023 compared with the previous year, according to data put together for ET by specialist staffing firm Xpheno.

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The cohort remains at its lowest action point, with current active hiring numbers down by more than 98% to 200 compared with its typical active hiring volume in India.

This comes at a time when the tech industry is grappling with the global economic slowdown, as reflected in the uncertainty around pipeline conversion, project ramp-downs, sluggish revenue growth and a cautious approach by clients.

“The low to no hiring action maintained by the cohort over the year will continue to impact tech talent movements, especially in the experienced lateral layers,” said Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at Xpheno. It will be a signal for smaller companies to stay cautious, he said.

“Maintaining the status quo requires replacement hiring action, with no significant net talent additions recorded,” he said.

Even as of December last year, the active demand from the big tech cohort had already dropped by 78% compared with July 2022, reflecting a near 18-month low for the cohort, shows the data.

IT analysts and industry experts said this careful approach is expected to persist for the next two quarters and hiring will remain subdued in the near term, with a focus