Job cuts to hound Indian IT sector for next two quarters; companies mull layoffs: Survey

dWith Indian IT sector experiencing disruption in traditional roles rising every day on account of automation and digitisation, IT professionals in the country might to see a decline in job opportunities during the coming six months, a survey found out.

Hiring intentions across the IT sector in India will further weaken between October 2017 and March 2018, stated the Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey, released today by Experis IT ManpowerGroup India.

With rampant changes in the technology scenario, the Indian IT industry is planning to adjust the talent pool at its disposal accordingly. The survey of 500 Indian IT employers across India found out that  IT comapnies in the country are looking at extensive hiring in junior- and mid- levels, while contemplating layoffs in the senior slab.

"The collective number of layoffs that the IT giants are contemplating is way higher than what the Indian IT industry has ever witnessed and this trend is likely to continue for the next 6-12 months," the survey stated.

In light of these predictions, IT professionals should utilise the next 6-12 months to upgrade their skill sets to get into cutting-edge technologies where demand for talent is expected to be huge, the survey advised.

"A rise in new enabling technologies such as software as a service (SaaS) offerings, cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Artificial Intelligence's (AI) unprecedented speed, accuracy and cost efficiency is significant to maintain the competitive edge which are driving the businesses now," said Manmeet Singh, President at Experis, ManpowerGroup India.

Singh further said, "With this ongoing transformation, these technologies bring underlying technical complexity, which spurs the demand for young professionals resulting in Talent Refresh cycle in the Indian IT industry that would continue for the next 2 years."

Though the overall Indian IT employment outlook is fairly positive, the focus is shifting from scale to skill and upskilling employees is the new plan of action for employers.

A majority of employers said they want trained freshers in the system. Companies are now looking for fresh talent in the market that is upskilled already with the latest technologies and is ready to hit the ground.

"Preponing of probation is going to be the new normal of the industry so as to reduce the learning curve," the report said.

"In an era of external uncertainty, what is more important is that companies should continue on the path of transforming their organisation's engagement models, delivery capabilities and go-to market approach to suit the fast-changing needs of digital transformation," Singh said.