NDTV Profit reported that a Jefferies review found workforce growth among India’s listed companies slowed in FY26, while filings showed divergent staffing changes at two major financial firms.
NDTV Profit’s account of the review put employment growth across its sample at 1.8% year over year, compared with 2.7% in FY25. In financial services, the rate was 1.7%, down from 2.7%. The outlet also reported average employee-cost growth of 6.8% in FY26; that aggregate figure does not show the pay change for a typical worker. NDTV Profit’s account did not identify which companies drove the overall change. The sample covers listed firms, not India’s entire labor market. FY26 ran from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
ICICI Bank’s standalone filing lists 124,029 permanent employees and 124,324 employees overall on March 31, 2026, including other-than-permanent staff. The comparable FY25 counts were 129,177 and 130,957. The bank’s FY26 disclosure does not give a reason for the declines, which alone do not establish that layoffs occurred.
Bajaj Finance reported 155,369 employees on March 31, 2026: 83,756 on fixed-term contracts and 71,613 full-time. Its FY26 report says 36,402 fixed-term contract employees moved from outsourced roles into the company, alongside about 7,473 full-time employees onboarded. The report separately puts full-time workforce growth at 7,521. Bajaj Finance said bringing outsourced-role workers onto fixed-term contracts would strengthen oversight, curb attrition and offer routes to full-time jobs.
A separate ETBFSI report said five of six major nonbank finance companies expanded their workforces in FY26. Shriram Finance’s permanent employee count fell by 3,631, the outlet reported.
For FY27, NDTV Profit reported that Jefferies viewed stronger revenue growth as a possible support for hiring if companies need more workers. The outlet also cited a weak monsoon and fading GST-related benefits as potential risks to consumption.
