Synopsis
Global Capability Centres in India are starting smaller and using AI to boost output. Companies are no longer replacing every departing employee. This shift prioritizes high-skill talent over large teams. Business growth is expected to outpace headcount growth. Hiring demand is rising for AI, data, cloud, and cybersecurity skills. This signals a move towards precision hiring and future-ready capabilities.This comes as India’s GCC sector is beginning to break away from its long-standing headcount-led growth model and companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation to scale output with leaner teams, staffing firms and GCC enablers told ET.
Experts said AI-led productivity and tighter cost controls are reshaping hiring strategies, with business growth expected to increasingly outpace headcount growth across India’s GCC sector.
Research from ANSR, a GCC consulting and enabler firm, shows that nearly 60% of new GCC setups since 2020 have come from mid-market firms, which typically start with smaller teams and scale gradually over time. The GCC consulting and enabler firm said newer AI and product-focused GCCs are increasingly adopting a “start lean, scale later” approach instead of the bulk hiring model seen earlier.
“Over the next five years, GCCs are expected to scale output significantly faster than headcount growth as companies adopt AI-enabled delivery, automation and product-led operating models,” ANSR Research said. Companies are increasingly prioritising high-skill engineering and AI talent over large transactional teams.
The hiring shift is already visible in replacement trends.
Neeti Sharma, chief executive officer at staffing firm TeamLease Digital, said immediate backfills have fallen by 15-20% as companies increasingly restructure or upgrade roles instead of replacing employees one-to-one. “This is less a contraction and more a shift from volume-led hiring to precision hiring,” she said.
Sharma said hiring demand for niche skills in AI, data, cloud and cybersecurity has risen 40-50%, while roles in AI/ML, data engineering, cloud, cybersecurity and product management are seeing 20-30% higher demand than conventional technology roles. Fresher hiring in AI-first segments has also increased by 30-40%, while contract and project-based roles are up 15-25% as GCCs look for more flexible workforce models.
Sachin Alug, chief executive officer at staffing firm NLB Services, said backfill mandates per 100 exits have declined to 70-75 from 85-90 last year as companies consolidate responsibilities and redesign professional roles around evolving business needs.
“The broader focus is on building high-impact, future-ready capabilities rather than maintaining headcount parity,” Alug said, adding that hiring demand has weakened most sharply for entry-level and generalist roles, even as demand for AI and niche digital skills continues to rise.
Pareekh Jain, chief executive officer at outsourcing advisory firm EIIRTrend, said the shift is structural and is being shaped by tighter integration between Indian GCCs and their US headquarters, where companies are pushing for higher productivity through AI and cost optimisation.
“When work increases, the headcount will not increase in that proportion,” Jain said. “It will increasingly be AI-driven productivity.”
