Net employee addition by the top four Indian information technology (IT) services companies in 2017-18 dropped by over 76% this year, as per a media report. 

In the year ended March 31, 2018, the top four Indian IT firms namely Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies, made net additions of 13,972 employees compared to 59,427 in 2016-17.

The number takes into consideration the number of people who exited in the year.

The drop comes despite the fact that these IT majors posted good revenue growth during that period, indicating to the increasing focus on automation tool and technologies that the industry has been employing more and more to improve efficiency and service clients better.

Adding to this is the fact that the  IT industry has been able to delink headcount growth from revenues, which in turn is a good indicator for the industry in the long term. A quick look at the 2017-18 financial numbers of these companies confirms the same.

For instance, in 2017-18, TCS posted revenue growth of 8.6%, even though its employee headcount grew by just 2%. Similarly, Infosys posted a revenue growth of 7.2% while its employee headcount increased by only 1.9%. For Wipro, while revenue growth in the stood at 5.5%, the employee count grew by only 1%.

As these companies invest and hire across the globe, localize, and get new skills, and drive productivity from automation, this trend is expected to continue. Most large companies have curbed their hiring plans for this year as they continue to invest in digital technologies. 

For instance, TCS which made around 20,000 trainee job offers in last FY, which will be realized in the coming year, would follow the just-in-hiring model for lateral hiring.