• Entry-level tech hiring in India is shrinking, with campus freezes and automation reducing opportunities for fresh graduates.
  • Companies are increasingly assigning junior roles to experienced hires or automating them entirely, while internships and fresher onboarding decline.
  • While mentorship and AI upskilling offer some hope, large-scale fresher hiring is unlikely to return soon amid muted growth and shifting hiring priorities.

India’s tech sector, once a steady launchpad for engineering graduates, is now pulling back on entry-level hiring—leaving thousands of freshers scrambling for alternatives. According to a recent report by AIM, the job market for new graduates is collapsing across both traditional IT and emerging AI-driven roles.

In India, tech hiring is down 7% year-over-year. Though firms had initially promised to hire over 100,000 freshers in 2025, that goal is looking increasingly unrealistic. It is also being reported that widespread campus hiring freezes are already in effect, and even internships have dropped below 2019 levels.

This hiring slowdown isn’t limited to India. Globally, just 7% of new hires at Big Tech firms are fresh graduates. In the US, new grad hiring has plummeted over 50% since 2019, according to SignalFire’s State of Talent report.

The situation is made worse by the growing automation of entry-level work. Basic engineering tasks like writing boilerplate code, testing, and handling support tickets are increasingly handled by AI systems. As a result, companies are redefining junior roles, often posting low-level jobs but filling them with experienced professionals.

India’s top IT services companies are following suit. TCS, the country’s largest, added just 625 employees in Q4 FY25. Infosys reportedly laid off 350 newly onboarded engineers earlier this year and postponed trainee assessments. The emphasis now is on aligning hiring strictly with immediate project needs.

AIM’s report highlights that startups, too, are hiring fewer new grads. Only 6% of hires came from elite AI labs this year, with most preferring to retain senior talent. Companies are also shifting hiring out of major metros—tech job growth in India’s Tier 2 cities rose 48% in Q3 2024, as firms chase lower costs without committing to fresher onboarding.

While automation is partly to blame, AIM points out that generational shifts in workplace habits are also a factor. A Grammarly survey cited in the report found that 61% of Gen Z respondents said they couldn’t imagine completing work tasks without AI tools. Some employers now worry that younger engineers can’t function without heavy reliance on GenAI.

Despite these headwinds, there are pockets of resilience. Companies that continue to hire freshers are reportedly investing more in mentorship. Many graduates are proactively learning AI and data tools to stay competitive. Mid-career hiring is seeing cautious recovery, especially in sectors like engineering R&D, where 73% of firms face talent gaps, according to Bain & Company.

Still, AIM warns that the broader trend is troubling. India’s $300 billion tech industry continues to grow, but the benefits aren’t trickling down to the next generation of engineers.

With Big Tech moving toward AI-first operations and revenue growth remaining muted, large-scale fresher hiring is unlikely to bounce back soon.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah