India’s Semiconductor Design Jobs Drop 15% Amid Global Uncertainty
26 May 2025 / 02 min read
India's semiconductor design Global Capability Centres (GCCs) witnessed a 15% decline in job openings in 2024-25, largely due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and global supply chain disruptions, according to a report by talent solutions provider Careernet.
The report revealed that open positions in the sector peaked at 3,760 jobs in May 2024 before gradually tapering off to 3,040 by January 2025 and closing the year at 3,181 in March 2025. This represents a measured slowdown of nearly 15% year-on-year decline in active roles across India's top 50 semiconductor design GCCs.
Despite the moderation, the report noted that demand for niche skills in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), embedded systems, and RF/analogue design remained resilient. Mid-sized GCCs demonstrated greater hiring agility, the report added.
"The semiconductor design GCCs in India have experienced a relatively sluggish trend in new job openings over the past few quarters," Neelabh Shukla, Chief Business Officer at Careernet, told PTI as quoted in the Business Standard. "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."
However, the intellectual property (IP) design sub-sector, which focuses on developing specialized chip components and reusable design blocks, continued to demonstrate strong demand, with a significant number of open positions.
Despite the short-term fluctuations, Shukla expressed optimism about the medium to long-term outlook for the sector. "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," he added.
The report is based on an analysis of job openings in India's top 50 semiconductor design GCCs in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
