Indian IT companies expect layoffs, shrinking job market in next 2 quarters

New Delhi: Indian IT professionals are likely to see reduced job opportunities in the next six months as traditional roles are increasingly getting disrupted in the wake of automation and digitisation, a survey found out.

According to the Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey released today by Experis IT ManpowerGroup India, IT hiring intentions will further slacken for October 2017 March 2018.

The IT industry is looking at adjusting the talent pool, considering major hiring in junior and mid levels while contemplating layoffs in the senior slab, the survey of 500 Indian IT employers across India said.

"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.

Accordingly, IT professionals should utilise the next 6- 12 months to upskill themselves to get into cutting-edge technologies where demand will be huge, it added.

"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.