Infosys hires 8,000 freshers in Q2, keeps FY27 target of 20,000

Infosys hired more than 8,000 freshers in the July to September quarter and kept its plan to take on about 20,000 freshers in the 2026-27 financial year, the company's management said with its second-quarter results, as reported on October 23, 2026. The company added 4,480 employees on a net basis in the quarter, taking its total headcount to 332,542 from 328,062 at the end of June. Attrition, the share of employees leaving over the past 12 months, eased to 12.7 per cent from 13 per cent.

For engineering and science graduates, the large IT services companies remain one of the biggest sources of first jobs. When one of them confirms a hiring target in the middle of the year, it gives students in the 2026 and 2027 batches a firmer sense of how many entry-level roles are on offer. Infosys has now said it has taken on roughly two-thirds of its planned freshers in the first six months.

The hiring news stands out because it comes in a cautious period for the industry. In the same results, Infosys lowered its revenue growth outlook for the year to 1 to 2 per cent. Studies released this month have reported that many IT firms are reducing entry-level hiring as they adopt AI tools, and that routine coding work is increasingly automated. Against that background, a company keeping a fresher target of about 20,000 is a signal that large firms still see a need to build a pipeline of junior staff, even as the nature of that work changes.

The headcount numbers also show how the company is managing its workforce. Infosys added 4,480 people on a net basis, which means hiring outpaced exits during the quarter. Attrition fell slightly to 12.7 per cent, which suggests fewer people are leaving for other jobs than a quarter earlier.

For students and recent graduates, the practical points are these. Campus and off-campus drives at large IT companies continue, but the competition for each seat is intense. Hiring reports this year say employers increasingly expect freshers to show AI fluency and hands-on project work alongside basic programming. Candidates who can show hands-on projects in these areas, and who follow each company's official careers portal rather than unofficial job messages, are better placed.

Short-term: About 7,000 more fresher positions are expected in the second half of FY27 if Infosys meets its target. Graduates who have offers or are in the selection process can expect continued onboarding.

Long-term: Whether large IT firms keep hiring freshers at this scale will depend on demand and on how far AI tools change entry-level work. Infosys's choice to hold its target despite a lower growth outlook will be watched as a sign of how the industry balances the two.

Who is affected: Engineering, computer science and science graduates; colleges that depend on IT campus recruitment; current Infosys employees; and competing employers hiring the same pool of freshers.

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