Artificial intelligence promised to disrupt India’s IT industry and it is delivering.
But companies have flagged that their traditional role as huge hirers of new recruits may be winding down. It is thus far the only Indian IT services provider to have announced mass layoffs in the AI era, implementing cuts of more than 12,000 last year.
Balakrishnan.
The country’s IT giants will no longer need large ranks of entry-level engineers, according to former Infosys CFO V.
Other examples in the industry include an AI and automation deal Cognizant struck with Daimler Truck in February. A separate multiyear cloud management deal forged in June 2025 was structured so HCLTech will not be paid by German utility E.ON for the first year, with payments from the second year tied to efficiency gains and specific business outcomes, according to two people familiar with the agreement. Some rivals are factoring in productivity gains of 70% to 80% over five to seven years and guaranteeing prices despite rising chip costs, Joshi told an analysts’ call last month, adding that his company had chosen not to take such risks.
It stipulated AI-related cost savings would be split between the vendor and the client, according to people familiar with the terms.
