Job market in 2026: Indian cos plan to up hiring game; Godrej, Tata, Motilal Oswal & others

Indian companies are preparing for a stronger hiring cycle in 2026, with job creation expected to outpace this year as businesses expand teams, revive campus recruitment and push harder on diversity goals. According to staffing services firm TeamLease, Corporate India could add between 10 and 12 million jobs in calendar year 2026, up from an estimated 8–10 million in 2025. HR leaders across sectors say recruitment plans are being widened to meet demand for new skills, while also strengthening inclusivity across the workforce. EY India is among the firms planning a sizeable intake. The professional services company expects to hire 14,000–15,000 people in the financial year ending June 2026, its chief HR officer Arti Dua said. “Campus hiring has always been an important pillar of hiring at EY,” she said. The firm typically recruits around 2,000 candidates every year from business schools, engineering institutions, law colleges and undergraduate programmes, and currently has close to 50,000 employees in India. At Diageo India, hiring priorities will centre on capabilities linked to growth areas such as digital, supply functions and category expansion, CHRO Shilpa Vaid said. Alongside this, the company is seeking to improve gender diversity. Women currently account for 30% of the executive workforce and 31% of leadership roles at the Indian arm of the British alcoholic beverages maker. Explaining the broader hiring outlook, TeamLease Digital chief executive Neeti Sharma said demand is being driven by digital and technology transformation, as well as expansion in financial services, healthcare and infrastructure. She added that multinational companies setting up global capability centres in India and rising consumer demand, particularly in cities beyond major metros, are also supporting employment growth. Automaker Tata Motors expects most of its recruitment to be aligned with emerging and future-facing roles. Hiring will be focused on areas such as battery technology, software-defined vehicles, hydrogen fuel, engineering and R&D, commercial functions and customer service, according to CHRO Sitaram Kandi. Like several peers, the company is also sharpening its focus on inclusivity, ET reported. Godrej Consumer Products is targeting a more diverse workforce as part of its hiring strategy. HR head Vaibhav Ram said the company aims to increase the representation of persons with disabilities, LGBTIQA+ individuals and cis-women to 33% by FY27, from 31% at present. Motilal Oswal Financial Services is planning recruitment across all business lines. “We will hire for replacement roles and for incremental roles in the areas of tech, data science, AI, support functions,” group CHRO Niren Srivastava told ET, adding that the firm is also working to raise the number of women in leadership positions. Alongside fresh hiring, most companies said they will continue to invest in upskilling their existing workforce.