Indian IT giants Infosys, Wipro, TCS defer onboarding of over 10,000 fresh graduates

Several Indian IT companies, including Infosys, Wipro, and TCS, have delayed the onboarding of over 10,000 fresh graduates, leaving them without definite joining dates. Data from the IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) shows that these delays affect candidates offered jobs in the last two years, according to a report by Time of India.

Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of NITES, said the union has received many complaints from candidates offered positions at both top and mid-tier IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Zensar, and LTIMindtree.

According to the report, Infosys informed these candidates that their Date of Joining (DOJ) will be based on business needs and communicated at least 3-4 weeks prior. Infosys hired only 11,900 campus recruits in FY24, a 76% decrease from the 50,000 freshers hired the previous year. Wipro has not yet fulfilled campus offers made two years ago.

During a recent earnings call, Wipro CHRO Saurabh Govil stated that they will complete those offers before hiring new freshers, but could not provide a number due to the uncertain macro environment. In April, mid-tier IT company Zensar asked candidates to take a test to consider onboarding those who performed well.

Last year, Zensar requested freshers still waiting to confirm their continued interest despite the delay. Emails sent to TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Zensar, and LTIMindtree did not elicit a response before press time. The delay in onboarding is mainly due to business uncertainty in North America and Europe, where signs of a slowdown have made clients cautious about IT spending. Recent quarterly results and forecasts from some IT firms indicate a significant slowdown.

In the financial year ending in March, the combined headcount of TCS, Infosys, and Wipro dropped by nearly 64,000. This lack of new hiring is attributed to over-hiring during the pandemic. As the business environment became cautious, there was a greater focus on productivity without increasing headcount. Ashwin Yardi, CEO of Capgemini India, said the company is still evaluating numbers for campus hiring this year and mentioned that the numbers will be moderated. Last year, Capgemini India hired around 30,000 freshers from campuses.