Even as traditional IT firms slow hiring, global capability centres emerge as India’s most resilient engine for technology jobs, leadership roles, and high-value innovation
Bengaluru, NFAPost: At a time when India’s once-booming IT services industry is tightening its hiring taps, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are quietly but decisively stepping into the role of chief job creators in the country’s technology ecosystem. Far from being back-office cost centres, GCCs are now anchoring high-end engineering, AI, data, and R&D work—keeping India’s tech labour market vibrant even amid broader industry caution.
The contrast is stark. While large IT services firms have entered what industry watchers describe as a hiring moratorium, GCCs—offshore subsidiaries of multinational corporations—are expanding with long-term conviction, both in headcount and strategic depth.
A Tale of Two Hiring Cycles
Recent leadership hiring data underlines the divergence. According to a comparative study by Xpheno, leadership hiring in IT services companies grew a modest 2.4% in 2025, adding about 2,100 leaders year-on-year. GCCs, in contrast, recorded a 7.7% growth, adding nearly 3,400 leaders in the same period.
“This is not a short-term blip,” said Kamal Karanth, Co-founder of Xpheno. “The leadership talent growth reflects the underlying confidence and multi-year visibility that GCCs operate with. Their hiring plans typically span three to five years, unlike IT services firms that recalibrate quarter by quarter based on market volatility.”
The Second Wave of GCCs
Data shared exclusively by Tholons reveals that GCCs posted 5–7% sequential growth during the October–December quarter of FY26, with nearly 48% planning workforce expansion over the coming year.
According to Avinash Vashishtha, CEO and Chairman of Tholons, this momentum marks a structural shift rather than a cyclical rebound.
“This people’s growth is strategic, driven by a pivot to high-value and specialised work. The current hyperactivity in the GCC space represents a second wave—not cost arbitrage, but positioning GCCs as the strategic core for advanced talent and R&D,” Vashishtha said.
India today hosts about 1,850 GCCs employing close to two million professionals. By 2030, that number is expected to rise to over 2,400 GCCs, employing more than three million people and powering a $125 billion market. Tholons describes this evolution as India becoming the world’s ‘enterprise AI brain’.
Beyond Bengaluru and Hyderabad
Importantly, GCC growth is no longer confined to India’s traditional tech metros. Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore, and Kochi are recording 8–9% quarterly growth, decentralising the technology workforce and spreading economic impact more evenly.
“The specialised nature of this work commands a premium,” Vashishtha noted. “GCCs typically offer 12–20% higher salaries than traditional IT services firms, reflecting the complexity and criticality of the roles being built in India.”
Why GCCs Are Defying the Slowdown
Analysts say the resilience stems from the nature of GCC mandates. Unlike IT services firms, whose revenues are tied closely to global discretionary tech spending, GCCs are internal strategic arms of multinational corporations.
Ashutosh Sharma, VP and Research Director at Forrester, said GCC hiring has remained steady—especially among centres set up in the past three years.
“Each year, GCCs add roughly 200,000 to 250,000 new jobs. The outlook for CY2026 remains consistent, and we don’t foresee any major change in direction unless disrupted by a significant geopolitical event,” Sharma said, adding that 100–120 new GCCs are expected to be launched across sectors next year.
Building for the Long Term
Recruitment leaders echo this sentiment. Milind Shah, Managing Director of Randstad Digital India, said GCC hiring is expansion-led rather than reactive.
“GCC roles are being created to support AI adoption, cloud modernisation, data platforms, and product engineering. In 2025 alone, we’ve seen a 15–17% increase in demand for specialised technology roles, even as overall tech hiring softened elsewhere.”
Even blue-collar and infrastructure hiring is seeing a boost. Kamal Pal Hoda, CEO of Bluspring, noted that GCC-driven expansion could add 2.8–4 million jobs by FY30, with headcount growth far outpacing the IT services sector.
The New Anchor of India’s Tech Economy
As traditional IT firms remain cautious, GCCs have emerged as the stabilising force in India’s technology employment story—offering not just jobs, but long-term career pathways in cutting-edge domains.
For India’s tech workforce, the message is clear: while IT services recalibrate, GCCs are building for the future—and in doing so, are keeping the country’s innovation engine very much alive.
