Axis Bank to increase campus hiring to 12,500 as workforce shrinks by over 3,100

Axis Bank plans to increase campus hiring to as many as 12,500 people in FY27, even as its overall workforce declined by more than 3,100 employees in FY26, reflecting a broader shift in how large organisations are adapting to artificial intelligence and changing skill requirements.

According to comments by Rajkamal Vempati, Group Head of Human Resources at Axis Bank, the bank expects campus hiring to rise from approximately 11,500-11,600 recruits in FY26 to 12,000-12,500 in FY27. The move comes despite a reduction in the lender’s total employee base to 101,337 in FY26, down from 104,453 a year earlier.

The figures highlight an emerging workforce trend across financial services, where organisations continue to hire aggressively for future-ready roles while reducing dependence on certain operational functions increasingly supported by technology.

Young talent remains central to workforce strategy

While overall employee numbers declined, Axis Bank hired 31,665 employees during FY26, underscoring the scale of recruitment activity taking place across the organisation.

Speaking about the bank's hiring approach, Vempati said Axis continues to prioritise early-career talent and long-term capability building.

Key workforce numbers

• Employee strength fell to 101,337 in FY26 from 104,453 in FY25
• Net workforce reduction stood at 3,116 employees
• Total hiring during FY26 reached 31,665
• Campus hiring is expected to rise to 12,000-12,500 in FY27
• Campus intake in FY26 stood at approximately 11,500-11,600

The strategy reflects a focus on bringing in young employees, developing their skills internally and creating longer-term talent pipelines for business-critical roles.

AI reshapes jobs rather than hiring plans

Axis Bank indicated that AI adoption is reducing the need for some transaction processing and lower-level operational work.

According to Vempati, certain roles have become less relevant as technology takes over repetitive activities. However, the bank is not pursuing direct job cuts linked to automation. Instead, it is redeploying employees and reassessing vacancies before replacing roles that become redundant.

The workforce transition is particularly visible in areas where technology can automate routine processes, allowing the organisation to redirect talent towards functions requiring stronger customer engagement and judgement.

Relationship management gains importance

As some operational tasks become automated, the bank is shifting employees towards customer-facing and advisory functions.

Areas receiving greater workforce focus include:

• Commercial banking
• Wealth management
• MSME banking
• Risk management
• Compliance
• Audit
• Cybersecurity

Axis Bank views relationship management roles as less susceptible to automation because they depend heavily on trust, client understanding and ongoing human interaction.

The shift signals how banks are increasingly prioritising advisory and relationship-driven capabilities while using technology to streamline back-end operations.

Internal mobility becomes a strategic lever

The lender is also relying heavily on internal talent movement to fill workforce needs.

Its AI-enabled internal career platform, Thrive, matches employees with open positions based on skills and experience. Employees can now apply for internal opportunities after 16 months, compared with the earlier requirement of three years.

According to Vempati, around 65 per cent of employee movement within Axis Bank now happens internally, significantly higher than the estimated industry average of 25-30 per cent.

At the same time, employee attrition declined to 22.4 per cent in FY26 from 25.5 per cent in FY25, which the bank attributed to improved productivity, evolving work practices and greater career mobility.

Productivity tools drive AI adoption

Axis Bank is deploying AI-led systems designed to improve employee effectiveness rather than replace large sections of its workforce.

Its Siddhi platform uses customer information to generate targeted prompts for employees, while AI-powered tools help analyse customer interactions and identify improvement opportunities.

According to the bank, employees using Siddhi recorded productivity gains of up to three times, while those participating in daily learning activities were 10-15 per cent more productive.

Technology hiring, however, will remain a relatively small portion of overall campus recruitment. The bank expects only 150-200 technology hires within its projected intake of around 12,000 recruits, with the majority joining business, customer-facing and governance functions.

New roles emerge as old tasks disappear

Axis Bank expects AI to reshape work rather than simply reduce employment opportunities.

Vempati said some existing tasks could disappear as automation expands, but new positions are emerging in areas such as:

• AI governance
• AI Centre of Excellence operations
• Data governance
• AI value delivery and oversight

The bank estimates 15-20 per cent of current tasks may disappear, while a comparable proportion of new responsibilities could emerge as organisations build governance and oversight structures around AI adoption.

For India's banking sector, the message is becoming increasingly clear: workforce growth is no longer measured solely by headcount. Future hiring strategies are likely to focus on skills, redeployment and human capabilities that complement technology rather than compete with it.