Too early to wave red flag over pink slips

Job cuts by multinationals operating in India have made a quiet reappearance. Pink slips have been restricted to tech companies like Oracle, Uber and PayPal, but are now spreading to consumer electronics firms such as Samsung as semiconductor demand by the AI industry pushes up prices of household gadgets, including television sets. India is, however, a strong consumer market, and has not lost too much momentum due to the oil supply disruption in the Persian Gulf. Overall, companies are reporting an optimistic labour market, propped up by rising business confidence. Hiring is expected to pick up in the current quarter, according to Manpower, a staffing firm, on demand for new skills. Global disturbances - chip and oil shortages - that are showing as job losses in MNCs are expected to persist for a while, but should eventually subside. Indian companies that are more focused on domestic consumers are likely to have a bigger payroll cushion.

Office-leasing activity in India is on a multi-year uptrend. Gross leasing volume in the first half of this year was around 38 mn sq ft, after hitting a record 83 mn sq ft in 2025. Almost 40% of this year's leasing activity is driven by global capability centres (GCCs) as offshore corporate offices expanded their India footprint. GCCs are expected to employ over 3 mn professionals in India by 2030, which involves adding headcount in the lakhs every year. The job cuts by multinationals announced in 2026 are small in comparison, and the net employment scenario appears resilient. Hiring by Indian tech companies has been throttled on account of AI deployment. But broader AI deployment across industries is still being negotiated over costs of the technology, and its immediate impact on business productivity.

By virtue of India being perceptibly the most resilient economy in the face of global supply disruptions, its job market should remain steady in the medium term. So, it may be too early to be waving the red flag over pink slips.