India’s second-largest IT services firm Infosys said it sees no immediate need for campus hires given utilization levels, in contrast to rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which has commenced large-scale graduate recruitment.
Infosys Halts Campus Intake
Addressing a briefing after Q3 results, Infosys outgoing CFO Nilanjan Roy stated, “We are not seeing any urgent campus requirement currently.”
He noted Infosys will monitor utilization and flexi-hiring models before deciding on resuming campus intake. This marks the second straight quarter with no graduate hiring.
In October, Roy had indicated Infosys will review campus recruitment each quarter based on demand.
Infosys headcount shrank by 6,101 in Q3, dropping to 322,663 employees currently. This reflects the fourth consecutive quarter of workforce reduction.
However, attrition eased further to 12.9% versus 14.6% last quarter as talent retention improves.
TCS Commences Large Graduate Hiring
Though TCS also reported 5,680 drop in employees this quarter, the company asserted it has embarked on sizable campus recruitment for 2023-24.
“We see tremendous excitement among graduates to join TCS. It will be a big hiring number,” stated Chief HR Officer Milind Lakkad.
For current fiscal year, TCS has targeted onboarding 40,000 freshers from campuses. Lakkad dismissed notions of delays in new graduate induction schedules.
TCS attrition rate also moderated to 13.3% in Q3 from 14.9% earlier as talent churn trends down amid economic uncertainty.
The divergence in campus hiring strategies of Infosys and TCS reflects differing expectations on future growth and demand outlook over coming quarters.
While Infosys remains cautious given volatile environment, TCS believes strong deal wins provide revenue visibility to justify large-scale intake of new graduates.
