GCC hiring sees rebound in fourth quarter of FY26

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India saw a recovery in hiring in the fourth quarter (January to March) of FY26 compared to the third quarter, according to a report by staffing solutions company Quess Corp.

Quess Corp's latest report 'India’s GCC Tech Talent Landscape Q4 FY26' said the GCC ecosystem recorded a 12–14% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth in Q4 FY26, a strategic shift from the selective optimisation seen in Q3 (4-6% growth) to a broader, recovery-led expansion.

The report noted that the expansion is largely related to replacement hiring accounting for 40% of all recruitment activity. This is largely due to fall in Gen Z tenure expectations to under 24 months. These evolving cycles are forcing GCCs to balance aggressive expansion with the need for organisational continuity.

Kapil Joshi, CEO of IT Staffing said, “We are witnessing a structural shift: a higher volume of recruitment is being diverted to replacement roles as tenure cycles shorten. This is prompting organisations to rethink how they build depth in their talent pools.”

The shift suggests that the hiring headline is no longer just about net-new jobs, but also about managing the higher churn inherent in the current talent market.

“As GCCs evolve into strategic global hubs, the focus must shift toward balancing rapid scale with long-term capability building to ensure sustained growth,” Joshi remarked.

At the same time, GCCs also continue to face the challenge of hiring people with AI-driven capabilities and skills in platform engineering and infrastructure modernisation. The report noted that the BFSI sector is grappling with a 42% skill gap in AI and data roles, prompting organisations to offer 1.5x–2.5x salary premiums to attract specialised experts.

The report said there are talent shortages in segments such as AI & data (38–42% shortage), platform engineering (32–36%), and cloud Infrastructure (28–32%).

Tier I cities continue to dominate, accounting for 88–90% of GCC hiring, led by Bengaluru and Hyderabad. While Tier II cities grew their share to 10–12%, nearly half of all complex technical mandates remain in Tier I hubs. This reinforces a 'hub-and-spoke' model, where Tier I locations drive innovation while Tier II cities focus on execution and operational scale.

Contractual roles comprised 25% of total hiring this quarter.

GCCs are increasingly leveraging flexible staffing models to access niche skills quickly and manage project-based surges, particularly for AI and platform-led transformation programmes.