Wipro Trims FY26 Graduate Intake by 30% Following Low Q3

IT major Wipro has significantly scaled back its fresher recruitment plans for the current fiscal year.

Following its third-quarter earnings announcement on January 16, 2026, the company revised its graduate hiring target to 7,500–8,000, a sharp decrease from the initial guidance of 10,000–12,000.

The Q3 Impact and Muted Intake

The revision comes on the heels of a lackluster October-December quarter.

Wipro CHRO Saurabh Govil confirmed that campus recruitment was exceptionally muted, with only about 400 freshers joining during Q3.

While the company has already onboarded over 5,000 graduates year-to-date, the slower pace indicates a cautious outlook for the final quarter of FY26.

Despite the reduction in fresher intake, Wipro’s total headcount rose by 6,529 this quarter, reaching 242,021.

However, this growth was primarily driven by the integration of the Harman DTS acquisition and “rebadging” staff from the large-scale Phoenix deal, rather than organic entry-level expansion.

Strategic Pivot to “AI-Ready” Talent

Wipro’s leadership emphasized that the decline in volume hiring reflects a strategic shift toward specialized skills.

The company is prioritizing “AI-ready” talent over generalist roles. To support this, Wipro has established 50 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) across various universities.

• Specialized Curriculum: These centers focus on high-demand niches like Generative AI, cybersecurity, and data science.
• Premium Compensation: Graduates recruited through these CoEs who possess specific client-project experience are being offered salary premiums.

Wipro Financial Headwinds

The hiring slowdown aligns with a 7% year-on-year drop in consolidated net profit, which fell to INR 3,119 crore.

Management attributed this decline to one-time restructuring costs and the implementation of new labor codes.

While revenue grew 5.5% to INR 23,555.8 crore, the company’s Q4 guidance remains conservative, forecasting flat to 2% growth.

Furthermore, the company noted that decisions regarding much-anticipated salary hikes for existing employees are still “in the process,” as the firm balances cost optimization with talent retention.

Voluntary attrition, however, showed improvement, falling to 14.2%.

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