Wipro extends hiring streak, TechM cuts jobs again; here’s how IT peers stack up

Hiring trends among IT services companies that have reported June-quarter earnings so far remain mixed. While Wipro extended its hiring streak with a fourth consecutive quarterly increase in headcount, Tech Mahindra continued to trim its workforce. Earlier, TCS reported robust hiring, while HCLTech recorded its sharpest headcount decline in two years.

Wipro added 888 employees during the quarter, taking its total workforce to 243,044. The Bengaluru-based IT services company has now reported headcount growth for the fourth consecutive quarter, although the latest addition was lower than expected given its acquisition of Mindsprint, which employed over 3,200 professionals.

Wipro: Four straight quarters of net hiring

Attrition remained broadly stable at 13.9%, compared with 13.8% in the previous quarter, while utilisation, excluding trainees, edged up to 83.6% from 83.5%.

Tech Mahindra, meanwhile, reduced its workforce by 863 employees sequentially, taking total headcount to 146,760. The company continued to focus on improving utilisation and profitability, while its last twelve-month attrition rate improved to 11.8% from 12.1% in the March quarter.

Among the large IT players, TCS remained the strongest recruiter, adding 9,279 employees during the quarter — its fastest headcount growth in 15 quarters despite continued caution around HCLTech. The company reported a last-twelve-month attrition rate of 13.6%, signalling relatively stable employee retention amid a challenging demand environment.

HCLTech, despite reporting a strong June-quarter financial performance, recorded its sharpest headcount decline in two years, with 3,292 employees leaving the workforce. Attrition remained stable at 12.7%, even as the company continued investing in innovation and intellectual property.

The contrasting hiring trends underscore that while parts of the IT sector are beginning to rebuild talent pipelines, companies remain selective in hiring as clients continue to exercise caution on discretionary technology spending.