LinkedIn: AI hiring surges 59.5%
- LinkedIn’s AI Labor Market Report 2026 said AI engineering hiring in India rose 59.5% year on year, the fastest among major markets, with demand spreading beyond Bengaluru into Hyderabad and Vijayawada. - Bengaluru remained India’s main AI hub, while Hyderabad posted 51% hiring growth and Vijayawada 45.5%, as large enterprises and smaller firms both expanded AI teams across more industries. - The surge landed as India’s top five IT services firms cut 6,981 jobs in FY26, showing hiring is shifting toward specialized AI roles. (indianexpress.com)
LinkedIn says AI engineering hiring in India jumped 59.5% year on year in 2026, the fastest growth rate among the major markets it studied. (indianexpress.com) The company’s AI Labor Market Report 2026 said Bengaluru remains the country’s anchor for AI talent, but hiring growth is no longer concentrated in one city. Hyderabad recorded 51% growth and Vijayawada 45.5%. (indianexpress.com) (thehansindia.com) LinkedIn said large enterprises still employ the biggest share of AI talent as they spend on infrastructure, governance and large-scale deployment. The report also said small and mid-sized businesses are adding AI staff as they move from pilot projects to production use. (indianexpress.com) (techcircle.in) The report pointed to a broader industry spread, not just a software-services story. In manufacturing, AI engineering talent in India expanded fourfold to 2.0% in 2025, according to LinkedIn’s data cited by Indian media. (thehansindia.com) (yourstory.com) That hiring surge arrived alongside a very different headcount trend in mainstream information-technology services. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra together reduced their workforce by 6,981 employees in FY26, reversing net additions of 12,718 in FY25. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (ndtvprofit.com) Economic Times reported Tata Consultancy Services accounted for the biggest decline, cutting 23,460 roles during the year, while Tech Mahindra reduced headcount by 1,108. Companies cited demand uncertainty, delayed client decisions and AI-led efficiency gains. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (ndtvprofit.com) Put together, the numbers show India’s tech hiring is splitting in two directions at once: fewer broad-based additions in traditional services, and faster hiring for engineers who can build and deploy AI systems. (techcircle.in) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) For job seekers, the clearest signal in LinkedIn’s data is geographic as well as technical. India’s AI jobs boom is still led by Bengaluru, but the next wave is showing up in cities that were not central to the country’s last software hiring cycle. (indiatoday.in) (indianexpress.com)
