Fewer new jobs at top banks as digital takes centre stage

Banks building internal talent pipelines, prioritizing promotions and in-house programs

- Abirami Sekar

Hiring across India's leading private sector banks fell to its lowest in at least three years in FY25 due to a decline in attrition and a major shift to digital banking, showed a Mint analysis of latest annual reports. Hiring is likely to stay subdued in the current fiscal year as well.

The analysis covered HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Yes Bank. These banks added a total of 131,471 employees in FY25, reflecting a 32.3% decline from 194,213 in FY24 and a 15.8% decline from 156,140 in FY23.

Experts said branch operations now require fewer people due to wider adoption of digital channels, while much of the hiring done during covid has been absorbed. At the same time, banks have been building internal talent pipelines, prioritizing promotions and in-house programs over lateral recruitment. New roles are largely concentrated in areas such as technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and wealth management, they added.

"At any branch, walk-ins have reduced, and banks are able to deliver the same quality with fewer people. Customers are using alternate channels like phone banking and net banking," said Upasana Agarwal, practice head and partner at ABC Consultants, an executive search and talent advisory firm.