The planned intake for FY27 mirrors the company’s expected total for FY26, suggesting that Infosys has found a “new normal” for growth driven by artificial intelligence.
Why the Surge? The AI Shift
According to management, the demand landscape is moving beyond pilot projects into “real projects at scale.”
- AI Partner of Choice: Infosys currently serves as the AI lead for 15 out of its 25 largest clients, particularly in the financial services sector.
- Service Expansion: New hiring is targeted at three high-growth areas:
- AI Agent Development: Building custom agents on various foundation models.
- Legacy Modernization: Using AI to upgrade aging enterprise software.
- Customer Service: Implementing generative AI for automated, high-level support.
Compensation: The ₹21 Lakh “AI Premium”
To attract “digitally native” talent capable of working with complex LLMs and agentic frameworks, Infosys has dramatically increased its entry-level salary ceiling for specialized roles.
| Role Profile | Projected CTC (Per Annum) | Focus Area |
| Specialist Programmer (L3) | Up to ₹21,00,000 | R&D, Core AI Product Teams |
| Specialist Programmer (L2) | ₹16,00,000 | High-potential coders |
| Digital Specialist Engineer | ₹6,25,000 + ₹75k Bonus | Enterprise digital transformation |
| Systems Engineer (Trainee) | ₹3,60,000 | Legacy & IT operations |
Hiring Trajectory (FY26–FY27)
The company’s headcount has returned to a growth phase after several quarters of stagnation.
- FY26 Progress: Infosys has already recruited 18,000 graduates in the first three quarters of FY26.
- Q3FY26 Momentum: The company saw a net addition of over 5,000 employees in the quarter ending December 2025.
- The FY27 Goal: A firm target of 20,000 graduates has already been baked into the strategic plan starting April 1, 2026.
Evolving Business Models
As the workforce blends human teams with AI agents, Infosys is also testing new pricing models.
- Agent-Based Pricing: Charging based on the output or performance of an AI agent.
- Joint Team Pricing: A hybrid model that bills for a “human + AI” pod.
- Outcome-Based Pricing: Transitioning away from pure “time and material” (man-hours) toward sharing the value created by the AI discovery or efficiency gain.
Conclusion: Cautious Optimism
The aggressive hiring roadmap reflects Salil Parekh’s belief that “growth in AI-led services is outpacing the compression in traditional IT.” With stronger economic signals coming from the U.S. in early 2026, Infosys is positioning its massive 20,000-strong fresher cohort to be the primary engineers of the global “Agentic Era.”
