Capgemini, Cognizant and EPAM Step Up India Hiring as AI Workloads Grow
Global IT services firms including capgemini, Cognizant and EPAM are adding thousands of roles in India, leaning into an early, contrarian shift that uses a larger local workforce to power AI-related delivery while protecting growth and operating margins.
AI Workloads Drive India-Centric Hiring
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in services workflows, these companies are growing teams in India to staff and monitor deployments. Analysts flag this as the start of a broader hiring pivot, even as some large Indian peers trim their workforces.
By the end of calendar year 2025, India had become an even larger share of each company’s global base, with local hiring driving overall additions:
- Capgemini: 230, 000 employees in India; 423, 000 total worldwide
- Cognizant: 256, 900 employees in India; 351, 600 total worldwide
- EPAM: 12, 200 employees in India; 62, 850 total worldwide
Each of the three increased India headcount versus the prior year, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total staff. For Cognizant and EPAM, India-led growth offset declines in other regions. EPAM’s India base became its largest in 2024, surpassing Ukraine after the firm moved employees out of conflict zones beginning in 2022.
Capgemini’s India Surge And The WNS Effect
For capgemini, India was central to last year’s expansion. India accounted for 73% of the company’s total headcount addition, and the firm finished 2025 with 423, 000 employees, up by 81, 900 from the year before.
Much of this jump stemmed from its purchase of WNS on 17 October 2025 for $3. 3 billion. WNS brought 66, 000 employees, about 44, 000 of whom were in India, immediately scaling capgemini’s local presence. The focus across these additions includes talent aligned to AI use cases and oversight—an area the companies see as critical as automation spreads through client operations.
Revenues Improve; A Contrast Emerges
As India headcounts rose, the trio also posted better topline momentum in 2025. Capgemini reported $26 billion in revenue, up 1. 67% year over year; Cognizant reached $21. 1 billion, up 6. 95%; and EPAM hit $5. 5 billion, up 15. 42%. All three improved on their prior-year performance. In the preceding year, Capgemini’s revenue had declined 1. 9%, while Cognizant and EPAM grew 1. 98% and 0. 8%, respectively. Each company follows a January–December financial calendar.
Not every global peer mirrored this pattern. One multinational with a smaller India footprint saw revenue growth slow to 1. 62% in 2025 from 15. 26% the year before, alongside a decline in its India headcount. At year-end 2025, it listed 5, 296 employees across “new markets” spanning Asia, Africa and Oceania, compared with 5, 513 employees in India alone a year earlier. Its total workforce fell by more than 2, 500 to 28, 773, and it did not disclose a separate India figure in its latest annual report.
While the hiring momentum in India is clear for Capgemini, Cognizant and EPAM, one detail remains uncertain: whether the newest additions skew toward fresh graduates or lateral hires. What is clear is the business logic behind the shift. As AI-based tools roll into production, large delivery centers in India offer scale and cost leverage, alongside a deep pool of specialists who can build, integrate and monitor these systems. With that combination, the India ramp-up has become a central plank for growth—one that these firms believe can support both client demand and profitability in the year ahead.
