Hubballi, October 16, 2025
The IT landscape in North Karnataka's emerging tech hub of Hubballi was shaken today as over 5,000 jobs were slashed across multiple global firms, part of a broader wave of restructuring driven by artificial intelligence adoption and cost-cutting measures. Local branches of major players like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Accenture, and HCLTech, which have been pivotal in the region's digital growth, confirmed the cuts, leaving thousands of mid-level engineers and support staff in limbo and sparking fears of a ripple effect on the local economy.
The layoffs, affecting primarily software development and quality assurance teams, were disclosed in a series of internal memos and town halls held virtually this week. TCS alone is trimming around 1,500 roles in Hubballi, contributing to its global plan to cut 12,000 positions – about 2% of its 613,000-strong workforce – as it pivots toward AI-driven services. Accenture, which operates a significant delivery center in the Hubballi-Dharwad industrial belt, announced 1,200 terminations locally as part of its September decision to lay off over 11,000 employees worldwide to streamline operations. HCLTech follows suit with nearly 1,000 cuts, aligning with its divestiture-led reductions of 8,000 jobs earlier this year. Smaller impacts from Oracle and Intel, with about 800 and 500 roles respectively, push the total to 5,000, according to estimates from the Karnataka IT Services and Electronics Industry Association (Keonics).
"This is a painful but necessary realignment to stay competitive in an AI-first world," stated a TCS spokesperson in a statement to media outlets, echoing sentiments from global tech leaders amid 180,000 worldwide layoffs in the sector by early October. The moves come as firms like Microsoft, Google, and Intel – all with indirect ties to Hubballi's outsourcing ecosystem – continue shedding jobs to fund automation initiatives, with over 22,000 cuts recorded across these giants in 2025 alone.
Hubballi, once touted as Karnataka's "next Bengaluru" with its affordable talent pool and proximity to the Goa-Mumbai corridor, has seen rapid IT expansion since 2020, hosting over 20,000 tech jobs. However, the current purge – the largest in the region's history – has triggered immediate distress. "I've given five years to this company, training in legacy systems that AI is now replacing overnight. What now?" lamented 28-year-old software tester Priyanka Hegde, one of the affected employees from Accenture's campus near the Hubballi Airport. Local unemployment, already hovering at 7% in Dharwad district, could spike by 2-3 points, analysts warn, straining small businesses and real estate in the area's IT parks.
Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad labeled the developments "alarming," vowing to convene with IT leaders next week to discuss leniency in retrenchment norms, similar to his response to TCS's earlier cuts. IT Minister Priyank Kharge, meanwhile, highlighted ongoing dialogues with firms to assess AI's job displacement, announcing a ₹500 crore reskilling fund for laid-off workers focused on emerging tech like cybersecurity and space applications – a nod to recent initiatives like Infosys's new AI center in Hubballi.
The broader Indian IT sector, employing 5 million, faces its toughest year since the pandemic, with 5,649 startup layoffs in the first nine months alone, fueled by AI disruption and the rise of Global Capability Centers (GCCs). In Hubballi, where manufacturing SEZs like Aequs Infra's electronics zone offer a silver lining amid the gloom, community leaders urge a shift toward diversified skills. "While IT bleeds, our manufacturing push could absorb some talent," noted a local chamber official.
As severance packages – averaging three months' salary – roll out and outplacement services kick in, Hubballi's tech community braces for uncertainty. With festive season hiring freezes compounding the pain, the question looms: Can reskilling turn this setback into a springboard, or is it the end of an era for tier-2 IT hubs? The state government promises support, but for now, the pink slips tell a stark story of global forces reshaping local lives.
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