India’s tech hub sees most layoffs along with sharpest dip in hiring

• So far, in FY24, as many as 4,986 people lost their jobs, and over half of them are from Bangalore.
  
• Edtech decacorn BYJU’s and retail major Reliance JioMart laid off 1,000 employees each.
  
• Bangalore also saw the sharpest dip in hiring in June as the outlook for the IT sector remains bleak.
  

It’s almost been a year since funding winter had started affecting the ability of startups to keep up with their pandemic-growth story. As most of them are forced to make do with less, a lot of them resorted to retrenchments.

This financial year too has had a bad start — with around 5,000 people losing their jobs, most of them work at startups. A multitude of reasons – the need for larger startups to go for public issues, regulatory and other troubles – have forced companies to lay off people.

So far, in FY24, as many as 4,986 people lost their jobs – and over half of them – 2,620 of these people are from Bangalore. Moreso, 16 of the 23 companies in the list of layoffs, are from the startup hub of India, as per data from Layoffs.FYI.

Decacorn’s many worries

India’s most valuable startup and the country’s largest retailer went in for massive layoffs this financial year. BYJU’s laid off 1,000 employees in June, as it faces headwinds including screen fatigue amongst its consumers, to financial troubles that have led to the company filing a case against one of its lenders in the US. It had also laid off 2,500 employees last October, as it consolidated operations across the many platforms it acquired last year.

Matching BYJU’s number is India’s largest company, Reliance Industries’ and also the country’s largest retailer, which laid off 1,000 employees in May. The retailer which acquired wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry, is looking to streamline operations, and shut off many of its fulfillment centres, as per reports.

Added to that, the company had also shut off JioMart’s quick commerce service, Express in February this year. Startups with plans to go for public issues like PharmEasy and Mamaearth also made it to the list. Edtech company Frontrow, media startup Bluepad, logistics startup Euler Motors, and fintech Fampay also laid off employees between April and May but the number of employees affected were not mentioned by Layoffs.FYI data.

Layoffs in India (April-June)


Source: Layoffs FYI


Bangalore’s sees sharpest dip in hiring too

Apart from the economic slowdown that’s forcing companies to cut expenses, technological disruption is also making jobs redundant. This trend has affected hiring in India as well. There is a 7% slowdown in hiring in June, as compared to the same time last year, as per foundit Insights Tracker (fIT). On a month-on-month basis also, hiring slowed down in June by 4%.

Bengaluru which is the worst hit in terms of layoffs also showed the sharpest dip in hiring. “Bangalore, a prominent hub for the IT industry, experienced a significant YoY decline of 24%. This fall may be attributed to multiple factors, including the rapid automation that is replacing jobs in various industries, including the IT sector,” said foundit.

However, most metros like Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad also saw significant YoY declines ranging from 9-16%, underscoring the difficulties faced in the job market in these areas.

“The current hiring trend reflects the challenges faced by India's job market. Although the hiring environment may remain challenging in the near future, as the economy strengthens, we anticipate a surge in hiring across industries. Also, it is crucial for job seekers to be adaptable to this shifting labour market,” said Sekhar Garisa, CEO of foundit.

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