There has been a certain softening in IT hiring: Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Info Edge

“What we have been seeing over the last couple of quarters is that there has been a certain softening in IT hiring. And this is largely led by global trends due to what is happening in the US market but non-IT is doing fine,” says Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-Founder, Info Edge.

Are most of the IT companies downsizing?
Well, it is a question of are there alternatives to downsizing? Secondly, you must lead by example as a founder and cut your own salary first before asking others to tighten their belt. And when you do so, the consolations can be such that you give people a soft landing.
The government is really sort of building up start-up ecosystem and they are saying that it is a start-up ecosystem, digital ecosystem that is going to really lead growth.
What we have been seeing over the last couple of quarters is that there has been a certain softening in IT hiring. And this is largely led by global trends due to what is happening in the US market but non-IT is doing fine. So if you look at our latest jobs week, it was a 2% YOY growth but that was minus 15% in IT and plus 25% in non-IT. So really non-IT which is more broad based actually for the economy is doing rather well and that I think augurs well for the economy.

So your take on valuations they have been criticised to have been bloated valuations especially with respect to how they were seen after the IPO’s of some of these start-ups that came out?
It has got a lot to do with liquidity and I think what has happened is that post 2008 for the next 13 or 14 years, the Fed printed its way out of trouble every time there was a problem and that led to asset price inflation and excess liquidity which found its way everywhere, including into early stage companies in India. Now with the Fed contracting its balance sheet and interest rates going up in the US, this will impact valuations all over the world across all asset classes and that is what is happening.