Wipro workforce declines 2.8% sequentially to 236,328 in Q2 FY27

Wipro’s workforce declined 2.8% sequentially to 236,328 employees in Q2 FY27, down from 243,044 in the preceding quarter, according to the company’s quarterly datasheet. The reduction of 6,716 employees came alongside lower net utilisation, although the workforce remained above its year-ago level.

The company reported 235,492 employees in Q2 FY26, leaving its latest headcount 836 higher year on year. The figures indicate a quarterly contraction following a year in which Wipro expanded its permanent workforce.

Headcount reverses recent growth

Wipro’s FY26 annual report recorded 242,156 permanent employees as of 31 March 2026, compared with 233,346 a year earlier, an increase of approximately 3.8%.

The September-quarter decline marks a reversal from the March headcount, although the published figures do not establish the reasons behind the reduction.

Key workforce indicators for Q2 FY27 include:

• Total employees: 236,328, down from 243,044 in Q1 FY27.

• Quarterly reduction: 6,716 employees, or approximately 2.8%.

• Year-on-year change: An increase of 836 employees from 235,492 in Q2 FY26.

• Net utilisation: 83.4%, excluding trainees, compared with 83.6% in Q1 FY27 and 86.4% in Q2 FY26.

• Voluntary attrition: 13.8% on a trailing 12-month basis in IT Services, excluding business process services, compared with 13.9% in Q1 FY27 and 14.9% in Q2 FY26.

Utilisation remains below year-ago levels

Wipro’s net utilisation declined by 0.2 percentage points sequentially to 83.4% in Q2 FY27. The metric was also three percentage points lower than the 86.4% recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

The figures show that utilisation weakened alongside the reduction in employee numbers. However, the published data does not establish a direct relationship between the two movements or indicate how they affected project deployment.

The company’s quarterly figures also do not specify how much of the headcount decline resulted from voluntary departures, restructuring or other workforce changes.

Attrition eases as employee numbers fall

Wipro’s voluntary trailing 12-month attrition in IT Services, excluding business process services, declined to 13.8% in Q2 FY27 from 13.9% in the previous quarter.

The rate was also lower than the 14.9% reported in Q2 FY26. The sequential movement represents a marginal improvement in voluntary attrition, even as the company’s overall workforce contracted.

The attrition figures alone do not explain the fall in total headcount, as the company has not provided a breakdown of the factors behind the quarterly reduction.

AI skilling remains a parallel priority

Alongside the workforce changes, Wipro continues to invest in employee training and AI-related capabilities, according to its FY26 annual report.

The report disclosed the following figures for its workforce development initiatives:

• AI-ready workforce: 212,663 employees covered by AI-ready workforce initiatives.

• Master AI certification: 93,994 associates completed the certification.

• Learning investment: 19.23 million learning hours devoted to skilling and professional development.

The figures provide a measure of the scale of Wipro’s reported learning initiatives. They do not, by themselves, establish how these programmes have affected productivity, employee deployment or demand for particular roles.

What the latest workforce figures indicate

Wipro’s Q2 FY27 numbers present two parallel developments: a sequential decline in headcount and continued investment in AI-related workforce capabilities. Utilisation also remains below its year-ago level, while reported voluntary attrition has eased.

The next set of quarterly results will provide further evidence of how these indicators evolve. For now, Wipro’s published data establishes the scale of the workforce decline but does not identify its underlying causes or quantify the effect of AI skilling on workforce requirements.