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India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are gearing up for a significant talent acquisition push, with nearly half of the sector planning to expand its workforce in the financial year 2026, according to a report released today.

A joint study by Taggd, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and JLL India found that 48% of GCCs intend to increase their workforce beyond 2024 levels, while 19% expect to maintain similar hiring levels as seen in FY24.

Early-career lateral talent with 1-5 years of experience remains the primary focus for GCCs, as they seek to balance cost, capability, and adaptability in their hiring strategies. The report underscores the sector’s strong hiring sentiment heading into FY26.

“Hiring sentiment remains strong for FY26 with 48% of GCCs expected to increase hiring, while 19% will maintain similar hiring levels seen in FY24,” said Taggd, a recruitment firm, in a joint report with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and JLL India.

GCCs are at the centre point in India’s growth story this year. For leaders building or scaling GCCs here, India’s unique context demands a strategic, location-aware, and talent-centric approach that goes beyond global playbooks,” said Devashish Sharma, CEO, Taggd.

Talent churn is rising, with nearly 40% of all hiring in 2025 expected to be replacement hires, signalling a growing challenge in talent retention across India’s GCCs, the report stated.

Average tenure expectations have decreased significantly, with Gen Z professionals preferring not to remain in the same role for more than 18-24 months due to reasons such as limited career advancement and role stagnation.

“Nearly 9 in 10 GCCs expect up to 50% of their hiring in FY26, signalling a growing shift toward building from within,” the report said.

Growth of GCCs in India continues to reshape the commercial landscape. Organisations are adopting distributed workforce strategies, leading to a significant shift in their real estate needs, said Ajit Kumar, Managing Director – Work Dynamics Accounts, West Asia at JLL India.

GCCs leased a record 28 million square feet of office space in 2024 with activity continuing strong in early 2025.

According to the report, 78% of hiring is expected to be for hybrid roles. The flex segment is the second biggest occupier segment in the country in terms of annual leasing activity, driven strongly by enterprise demand for ‘managed space’ solutions.