Survival of the smartest: How mid-tier GCCs can out-hire Big Tech in a post-layoff world

A few months ago at a networking event in Pune, I met a senior cloud engineer who had just been laid off from a Big Tech firm. He was calm—surprisingly so. “Honestly,” he said, “I’m done with the volatility. I want to build something more stable, closer to home.”

That conversation has stayed with me. Not because it was dramatic, but because it wasn’t. It's a sentiment I keep hearing, quietly but consistently, in conversations across the tech ecosystem. Talented professionals—experienced, capable, and still very much in demand—are no longer chasing the biggest brand or the flashiest perks. They're looking for meaning. For growth. For careers that feel like they’re building something, not just surviving something.

We’re standing at a very real inflection point—and mid-tier Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have a once-in-a-decade opportunity. For years, the narrative around talent was dominated by the giants: big names, bigger paychecks, sprawling campuses. But today, that dominance is being re-evaluated. In 2023 alone, over 2.4 lakh tech professionals globally were laid off. That’s not just a number—it’s a wake-up call. The sheen of Big Tech has dulled. What professionals now want is clarity, community, and a career path they can trust.

This is where mid-tier GCCs can lead. Unlike the traditional script, they are not weighed down by legacy systems or decades-old org charts. They are agile. They are ambitious. And increasingly, they are where some of the most meaningful innovation is happening.

In fact, over 50% of India’s 1,700+ GCCs have already moved beyond traditional support functions into strategic hubs. They’re now driving core mandates across product, engineering, and digital transformation. In FY23–24 alone, 24 of these centers crossed the $1 billion mark in export revenue—a clear sign that they’re no longer playing a peripheral role. They’re becoming central to how global businesses operate and innovate. And the fastest-growing roles? Engineering R&D, with demand outpacing the broader tech market by 1.3x.

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But success won’t come just from growth—it will come from intention. Talent today is discerning. They’re not just looking for jobs—they’re looking for careers that match their values, offer autonomy, and give them the opportunity to grow fast. 

That mindset is the biggest advantage for GCCs.

Cities like Pune, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad are no longer just attractive for cost reasons. They’re emerging as serious innovation hubs. Pune in particular has quietly transformed into a center for product development and strategic thinking. These cities are not just attracting but retaining the talent. The quality of life is better. The work is meaningful. And the ecosystem is finally catching up.

But this shift also demands a change in how companies think about hiring. It’s no longer about ticking off checkboxes—pedigree, big-name brands, or years of experience. The most competitive organizations today are looking at potential. They’re looking for curiosity, adaptability, and the ability to learn on the fly. Because while demand for skills in areas like GenAI, cloud, and blockchain is exploding, talent gaps in some of these fields still run as high as 45%. That’s more than a hiring challenge—it’s a risk to innovation.

What’s interesting is how some of the most forward-looking GCCs are responding. Not with more bells and whistles, but with depth. They’re building strong internal ecosystems—prioritizing things like internal mobility, early exposure to leadership, and cross-functional learning. These aren’t perks anymore; for today’s workforce, they’re non-negotiables.

The numbers back it up. Aon’s latest report pegs attrition in mid-sized GCCs at around 12%, compared to 18% in Big Tech. That tells you something. When people see a future, they stay.

The employee value proposition has changed. Compensation still matters, but so does flexibility, visibility, and the ability to move laterally—engineering today, product tomorrow, analytics the year after. And the organizations that recognize this—especially the mid-sized, more agile players—are the ones getting ahead.

By 2030, the GCC industry is expected to comprise over 4.5 million people, compared to the current base of around 1.9 million. That level of scale won’t be achieved by accident. It will belong to the organizations that are deliberate about how they grow—those that prioritize culture, invest in learning, and offer careers that can stretch across decades, not just salary bands.

Of course, this isn’t a vacuum. LATAM, Eastern Europe, even China—they’re all building global tech hubs and looking to tap into the same talent pool. The competition is real. But the playbook for attracting talent can’t be borrowed from Big Tech anymore. It has to be reimagined.

Because here’s the thing: after years of career whiplash and brand burnout, professionals aren’t looking for the biggest name anymore. They’re looking for the right one. For the first time in a long time, the quiet, steady builders—the mid-tier GCCs—have the chance to lead.

And in this moment of recalibration, they might just be the ones shaping what the future of work really looks like.

(Pushkar Bidwai is the CEO of People Matters.)