12 - 05 - 2026

Indian employers to slash graduate hiring by over 30% as AI gains ground

Indian employers are planning to slash graduate hiring by more than 30% as Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption accelerates, a sign of a structural shift in talent, according to a study by Randstad Digital.

A clear perception gap is also emerging between employer initiatives and workforce expectations, reinforcing the need for more structured, continuous and outcome-driven skilling approaches, the study said.

As Indian enterprises scale AI-led transformation, this presents a growing business risk, particularly in retaining and developing high-value tech talent. About 50% of employers report offering AI training, yet this remains insufficient relative to the pace of change.

India, a critical hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and digital transformation, the gap between corporate investment and human capability is becoming a primary constraint.

“Enterprise AI is not failing at the model level, but at the implementation layer. When organisations increase the velocity of tools without building the capability to use them effectively, it creates complexity rather than value. The focus for leadership now needs to shift from investment levels to learning velocity. Upskilling must be treated as core business infrastructure,” Milind Shah, Managing Director, Randstad Digital, said.

As hiring strategies for entry-level roles tighten in India, the report suggests that long-term competitive advantage will shift from those who adopt AI the fastest to those who enable their workforce to adapt most effectively.

The global study – The AI Capability Gap: Why Technology Investment Fails Without Talent Infrastructure – identifies an emerging AI Productivity Paradox, where improvements in task-level efficiency are not translating into proportional gains at the organisational level.

Instead, time is increasingly being redirected toward rework, oversight, and managing complexity, indicating that technology adoption alone cannot deliver value without corresponding workforce capability.

While majority of the employers have invested in AI over the past year, workforce adaptation has not kept pace, underscoring that the constraint is not technological, but human.

Nearly one in four tech professionals globally have left their roles due to limited access to future-ready learning. Within the workforce, 74% of talent believe they must upgrade their skills to remain competitive, and 52% are now seeking independent training as employer-led programmes lag.

The report, which analysed data from 27,000 individuals and 1,225 employers across 35 markets, found that demand for AI-related skills has surged by 1,587%. It argues that for enterprises to realise a return on investment, upskilling must be treated as “core business infrastructure” rather than an episodic HR function.