Recruiters Getting 100% More Resumes From IT Employees; Benched Employees At Highest Risk Of Layoff

To overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of information technology professionals have lined up in the job market over the last three weeks as IT companies, including IBM and Cognizant, have resorted to layoffs and job cuts.

Jump In Resume Flow

As per the reports, the recruitment firms have received at least a few tens of thousands of queries for entry to senior levels in the IT services space.

The senior director at ABC Consultants, Ratna Gupta said, “Over the last two weeks we have seen an almost 100% jump in resumes flowing in from leading IT services organisations,”. 

Why Would This Happen?

Gupta said, “These companies are restructuring to become leaner, agile and future ready.”

According to staffing firm officials, people associated with projects that have recently been scrapped and those who lack skills and expertise in new and digital technologies are facing the biggest threat.

A specialist staffing firm, Xpheno has seen almost 40% spike in CVs from senior tech professionals from IT services companies over the last fortnight.

The cofounder at Xpheno, Kamal Karanth said, “Global IT services companies have automated their L1 support services and reduced that headcount significantly over the last 2 years; Covid-19 has accelerated the pace of that reduction in the last two months, and the trend will continue till they feel the balance has been achieved,”.

Global IT majors IBM and Cognizant are among the firms that have gone for significant job cuts as they have initiated major restructuring and cost-management measures in recent times.

What Does Cognizant Say?

So far, both IBM and Cognizant have not responded on the subject.

The CFO Cognizant, Karen McLoughlin had said the company expected its “net head count to decline in 2020 versus 2019” in the firm’s latest earnings call. 

she said, “…we are aware that there are likely to be employees who are or will become unutilised, for whom we do not foresee those opportunities… The size and timing of these changes will unfold as the demand environment becomes clearer,”.

Demand For Digital Skills

In spite of the overall job cuts in the IT industry, demand for digital and new technologies talent have increased 20% in the lockdown period.

The senior vice president at software industry body Nasscom, Sangeeta Gupta said, “Digital skills will continue to be in demand this year too even as businesses deal with a slowdown on the demand side,”. 

She said, “Companies will continue to invest in upskilling their employees for the upturn,”.