Hiring pullback and scale revisions
Global capability centres (GCCs) in India are adopting a notably cautious posture on recruitment as companies reassess long-range staffing plans. Executives building and operating these centres report workforce plans have been reduced by roughly 30% to 50%. Several firms that once envisioned GCCs with more than 5,000 employees have cut those ambitions back to about 2,000 workers.
Drivers behind the caution
Leaders in the sector point to two main forces shaping the retrenchment: heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence. The combination is changing the type and volume of work routed to Indian centres and trimming headcount requirements for particular roles.
"There is a sense of cautiousness," Ahuja said. "Companies are hiring fewer people, just as a matter of abundant caution."
India’s role and capacity
India continues to host more than half of the world’s global centres, drawing firms with a large skilled labor pool, lower operating costs, and growing ability to take on higher-value tasks across technology, finance and engineering. Industry data cited by stakeholders indicate India is expected to house nearly 2,200 global centres with a talent base of 2.36 million by the end of the fiscal year ending in March, according to a report from IT industry body Nasscom and consultancy Zinnov.
How providers are adjusting workforce models
With muted hiring expected in the near term, market participants say new entrants to the GCC market will be an important source of growth. Providers are increasingly structuring engagement models around a stable core workforce complemented by a larger flexible pool of talent that can be scaled up or down to meet shifting business needs. That approach reflects an effort to balance capacity for growth with the difficulty of reducing staff when demand softens.
"Companies are now undertaking bold experiments," Ahuja said. "You can always hire more, but it’s always difficult to let go of people."
Clients and market facing work
Companies working with global capability centre operators span logistics, retail, and other sectors. One operator noted it works with clients including FedEx, Target and Lowe’s, highlighting the cross-sector dependence on India as a delivery and innovation hub.
Near-term outlook
Overall, the sector is bracing for a period of subdued hiring while experimenting with workforce structures that preserve optionality. The interaction of geopolitical caution and AI-driven changes to task mix is expected to continue influencing how companies plan and resource their offshore centres.
Note: This report relays statements and figures as provided by industry participants and cited industry reports. It does not add new numerical or factual claims beyond those presented by the sources referenced in these statements.