Tech Layoffs On Rise: Will Campus Hiring In India Fall This Year? Should Students Worry?

The technology sector is undergoing significant change with tech layoffs on the rise. The latest to shock the sector will be India's largest IT player, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), announcing the third biggest layoff of 12,000 jobs, after Intel and Microsoft. Both large-cap and startups are trimming their workforce as the growing demand for investment and strengthening in AI becomes a necessity. Does that mean the students are going to witness a dry 2025 in hiring?

Tech Layoffs 2025:

As of August 4, 2025, there have been 441 layoffs at tech companies with 131,417 people impacted (608 people per day), as per Trueup.io data. This is already moving closer to beating the 2024 tech layoffs, where 1,115 tech companies let go 238,461 employees, which was 653 people per day.

So far in 2025, the month of July witnessed the most layoffs, with 46,356 employees being impacted. Throughout the months, tech companies have significantly reduced their workforce.

Tech Layoffs Monthly Wise:

(Image Source: Trueup.Oi)

The latest mass job cut was declared by TCS. This Tata Group-backed behemoth is planning 2% cut in its total workforce, which could result in job loss for approximately 12,000 employees.

The 12,000 job cuts will be the largest in India in 2025 so far and the third largest in the world tech sector. The largest and second-largest layoffs are being carried out by Intel and Microsoft to the tune of 24,000 and 15,300 job cuts.

Will Campus Hiring Be Impacted?

"Sadly, yes - all signs are that campus recruitment for 2025 will be well below pre-2023 levels. Campus positions from IT companies fell by almost 35% in FY24, as per NASSCOM, and the trend is set to continue up to FY25 and FY26," said Shruti Swaroop, Founder of Embrace Consulting & Co-Founder International Inclusion Alliance, told GoodReturns.

She added, "Industry leaders such as Infosys, Wipro, and TCS have already gone public with a "just-in-time" recruitment policy and are mostly not engaging in large-scale recruitment campaigns."

The campus hiring situation in the second half of 2025 looks foggy. For instance, TCS earlier in April announced it would hire 42,000 freshers for FY26, but is cutting 12,000 jobs in mid-to-senior levels. In Q1FY26, TCS hinted that hiring going ahead will depend upon the macro conditions and business movements of the company.

Meanwhile, HCL Tech had signaled to trim its workforce earlier as well. However, Infosys has recently shunned the idea of reducing its workforce, instead emphasizing its plans to hire 20,000 freshers in FY26. But Q1FY26 headcount already reveals a slowdown in the hiring process.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, 3 out of the top 5 mega IT companies in India recorded a reduction in workforce.

(Image Source: BSE Data)

However, notably, the FY25 trend has been promising in campus hiring.

"We are witnessing a fundamental redefinition of campus hiring, one where skill alignment, early engagement and long-term retention are no longer isolated strategies but interconnected levers of sustainable talent development. As AI reshapes how we evaluate and engage future talent, the role of employers must evolve from recruiters to enablers of continuous learning. The future will belong to organisations that embed purpose, adaptability and trust into every stage of the early-career journey, creating not just jobs, but meaningful and sustainable careers," said Dr Neelesh Gupta, Partner, Deloitte India, in a latest campus hiring report.

(Image Source: Deloitte)

According to the Deloitte report dated June 2025, the technology sector remained the top choice among students, followed by Financial Services (FS). Consumer products and manufacturing are preferred towards the end. Among the top two career choices, MBA graduates opt for management consultants and product managers, while fresh tech graduates prefer software development engineer and data scientist roles.

What To Expect Ahead?

Here are 3 major recruitment strategies to watch out for in the IT sector, as per Swaroop.

1. From Scale to Skills

The hiring requirement is changing towards quality recruitment in contrast to volume recruitment. Organisations are increasingly leaning towards recruiting individuals with special skills in the domains of cyber security, cloud architecture, AI/ML and data engineering compared to software generalists.

2. Upskilling as a Pre-Requirement

Some companies are also more likely to make freshers undergo certification or exams (e.g., TCS NQT, Infosys Springboard) prior to approval of joining. Such a move is reflective of shifting towards a "ready-to-deploy" talent pool.

3. Lateral and Project-Based Recruitment:

Companies are also diversifying hiring by extending delivery centres in nearshore nations such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia further limiting opportunities for local graduates.

Should Students Worry?

There is still chances for students to grab opportunities in the tech sector.

As per Swaroop, FY26 will again probably be a year of caution and consolidation for India's IT industry. Campus recruitment in 2025 can expect to see more of the dip, with only a few exceptional candidates with in-demand technical abilities being better placed.

"Students and wannabes, the time of need is decidedly experienced upskill, remain flexible, and listen to the work of the future in an increasingly digital-first world. While the hiring landscape may be going through turmoil, candidates who adapt early can still acquire significant opportunities in the emerging tech landscape," she lastly concluded.