168,000 Tech Layoffs and Counting. Here Is What Is Actually Happening in India.
Microsoft, Oracle, Meta, CRED — the real picture behind 2026's layoff wave and who is still hiring
Tech layoffs crossed 168,000 globally in the first half of 2026.
Microsoft confirmed 9,000 more cuts in June. Oracle revoked 50+ campus offers at IITs and NITs. Meta cut its India ad-sales team. CRED is running what insiders are calling "silent weekly layoffs."
If you are a developer in India right now, this context matters — not because it should paralyse you, but because understanding the shape of what is happening tells you exactly where the opportunities still are.
The shape of the layoffs — this is not a downturn
India's tech job market in 2026 is not contracting. It is bifurcating.
The OwnYourCareer India hiring tracker tells the clearest story: 119,000 active tech openings in India — but only 13% are for freshers. Tech openings rose 9% month-on-month in March 2026. Fresher roles fell 10% year-on-year in the same period.
The roles being cut: - Mid-level engineers in non-AI teams (6–10 year experience band) - Routine application development and maintenance roles - Manual QA and entry-level IT services positions - Delivery centre roles where AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Devin) have reduced headcount needs
The roles being aggressively hired: - AI/ML engineers and applied researchers - Platform and cloud infrastructure engineers - Security specialists - Data engineers with AI skills - Mobile engineers with modern stacks (Kotlin, Compose, Flutter)
This is a structural rewrite, not a cycle. Routine, templated, predictable work is being compressed. Everything requiring complex judgment, domain expertise, and cross-functional ownership is growing.
GCCs are the quiet story nobody is covering
While IT services headcount fell ~7,000 in May 2026, India's Global Capability Centres added a net 22,000 roles in the same month.
NASSCOM projects 4.5 lakh new GCC jobs in 2026 alone. More than 1,700 GCCs now operate across India. The hiring is concentrated in:
- Platform engineering and cloud architecture
- AI/ML centres of excellence (185+ now operational)
- Security and data engineering
- Healthcare, BFSI, and fintech functions being relocated to India for the first time
The pay difference is significant. GCCs offer 12–20% salary premiums over traditional IT services firms for comparable roles. At senior levels, the gap widens to 30–60%. A Senior ML Engineer earning ₹24 LPA at an IT services firm earns ₹52 LPA+ at a GCC like JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs.
The catch: GCC roles are harder to get into. They screen for global communication, cross-functional ownership, and technical depth — not just years of experience.
What this means for your career strategy right now
If you are in IT services (0–6 years): The threat is real but not immediate for skilled engineers. Start building the skills that make you GCC-hireable — cloud certifications, AI tool fluency, system design depth. Do not wait for a layoff to trigger the transition.
If you are in IT services (6–10 years): This is the most exposed band. Automation and AI coding tools are replacing the maintenance and modernisation workloads that this cohort was built around. Either specialise sharply (AI, cloud, security, mobile) or move toward product companies or GCCs within 12–18 months.
If you are a fresher: The campus offer crisis is real — Oracle, Wipro, and others are deferring joining dates by 6–12 months. Focus on building a visible portfolio (GitHub, live projects, app store presence) and target GCCs and startups rather than IT services mass hiring.
If you have AI, cloud, or mobile skills: Your market value is higher right now than it has ever been. This is the moment to benchmark your salary and either negotiate internally or test the market.
The one data point that should change how you think about this
Tier-2 cities are quietly getting more hiring than metros in 2026. GCCs are seeding satellite offices in Coimbatore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Kochi — where attrition runs 30–40% lower and costs are 25–35% less than Bangalore or Hyderabad.
If you are open to these locations, or already based there, the supply-demand dynamic is significantly in your favour.
