Startup hiring in high-paying senior positions dropped 80% YoY in Q1 2023

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Employees up in the hierarchy haven’t been spared from the cost-cutting start-ups are adopting across industries. Hiring in senior leadership roles in India dropped 80 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report by executive search and talent advisory firm, LONGHOUSE Consulting.

While hiring for senior posts, where total cost-to-company is higher than Rs 50 lakh per annum, declined across new age firms, it was particularly severe in sectors like e-commerce and edtech, where the fall was to the tune of 93 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively, the report said. In Q1 2022, 500+ leadership positions, that LONGHOUSE tracked, got filled. But this plummeted to a low of 100+ in Q1 2023.

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Fintech hiring in high paying jobs dived 84 per cent, healthtech 70 per cent and onboarding in senior roles in companies working in the software as a service (SaaS) sector dropped by 73 per cent during the same period.

The slowdown is expected to spill into the coming two quarters, according to LONGHOUSE Consulting chief executive and founder Anshuman Das, with growth-stage and late-stage startups especially backing this trend, following a funding-crunch that has significantly crippled operations. “Early-stage and Pre-Series A start-ups are projected to hire. EV, healthcare, AI or ML, Fintech, and manufacturing early-stage start-ups in the series A and B levels are anticipated to increase the hirings with a few roles open for senior positions,” Das noted.