India’s semiconductor design Global Capability Centers (GCCs) experienced a nearly 15% year-on-year decline in job openings during the financial year 2024-25, largely due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and global supply chain disruptions, according to a report by talent solutions provider Careernet.The report highlights that open positions in the sector peaked in May 2024 at 3,760 but steadily declined to 3,040 by January 2025, closing the fiscal year at 3,181 job openings in March 2025. This indicates a measured slowdown in hiring across India’s top 50 semiconductor design GCCs, PTI reported.Despite the moderation in overall hiring activity, demand for specialised skills in areas such as Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), embedded systems, and RF/analogue design remained stable. The report noted that mid-sized GCCs demonstrated comparatively higher hiring agility in these niche segments.Semiconductor design, by nature, involves lower headcount compared to other technology domains. As such, shifts in hiring sentiment from just a few major industry players can significantly impact the broader job market in this area.“The semiconductor design GCCs in India have experienced a relatively sluggish trend in new job openings over the past few quarters. This cautious hiring environment is largely driven by ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, global supply chain disruptions, and volatility in valuations within key technology areas, such as artificial intelligence and advanced computing,” said Neelabh Shukla, Chief Business Officer at Careernet.The analysis is based on hiring patterns across the top 50 semiconductor design GCCs in India during FY24 and FY25.The report also pointed out that the intellectual property (IP) design sub-sector — which focuses on developing specialised chip components and reusable design blocks — continued to show strong demand, maintaining a significant number of open roles.“Despite these short-term fluctuations, we remain optimistic about the medium to long-term outlook. Increased global focus on semiconductor supply chain resilience, combined with strategic Indian government initiatives to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and design capabilities in India, is expected to catalyse a more robust growth trajectory for semiconductor design jobs in the coming years,” Shukla added.
