Tech hiring to add 1.25 lakh jobs in 2026 as AI, data and cybersecurity go core: Adecco

Bengaluru: Technology hiring in 2026 is expected to add around 1,25,000 new roles. AI, data and cybersecurity roles have shifted from experimental and discretionary to core organisational needs with demand growing 51%, said Adecco India.

The HR solutions provider forecasts 12-15% growth in overall tech jobs in 2026. About 40% large enterprises have operationalised generative AI pilots, it said.

Adecco India Director and Business Head, Professional Staffing Sanketh Chengappa said hiring in the IT and IT Services sector showed early signs of stabilisation through 2025. After a cautious period in 2023–24, demand began to rebuild in areas tied to AI engineering, cloud transformation, cybersecurity, data platforms and platform modernisation. Campus intake also improved as firms restarted structured early-career programmes. This gradual uptick indicates a sector shifting from restraint to renewal, setting the stage for a more decisive recovery in 2026 as the talent gap widens," he said.

Top Indian IT services firms during their Q3 earnings conference said that they would continue hiring freshers and people with specialised skills.

In the December quarter, Infosys and Wipro added 5,043 and 6,529 employees, respectively.

IT companies are also making significant investments in building a workforce that is AI and future-ready.

TCS Chief Human Resources Officer Sudeep Kunnumal said during the Q3 earnings call that 51.2 million learning hours have been completed year-to-date and 3.8 million competencies have been acquired. "We now have over 217,000 employees with higher order skills in AI, which is a 3X increase over last year. AI is creating new roles, such as rapid-build engineers and leads, which are increasingly vital for the future. We are currently working on aligning our role framework with AI as the centerpiece," he said.

Adecco also said that global capability centres (GCCs) have elevated cybersecurity to a board-level priority. Non-tech sectors have accelerated automation, building cross-functional tech teams at scale. In 2025 alone, the talent gap has soared to 44%, creating a talent war and median packages soaring 18% higher than 2024, it said.

For TCS, over 50% of its experienced hires are coming with next-gen skill sets. The company also hired a significant number of AI-native fresh graduates.

Within HCLTech, over 38,000 additional employees have been trained on GenAI and more than 600 on responsible AI. "Today, we have the highest number of open AI badged experts among all open AI partners. Our proprietary talent acquisition platform, Talent Navigator has now been deployed at scale across HCLTech," the company’s CEO and MD C Vijayakumar said.

Infosys and Wipro are also training people and upskilling them in AI. Wipro during Q3 earnings said that lateral hiring will continue and that it will be project and skill-based. "From a recruitment standpoint, especially on campuses, we have created 50 centres of excellence across different universities where we work with the university and build a curriculum in a specific area that could be on AI, cyber security and data. We work with them and then hire people," Wipro Chief Human Resource Officer Saurabh Govil said.

Also, IT companies are offering premium, high-value packages for freshers with specialised AI skills. HCLTech is betting big on elite freshers with AI skills, and is offering packages that go up to Rs 22 lakh per annum. Infosys is also offering fresher packages up to Rs 21 lakh for specialised tech roles.