Big Tech companies are cutting tens of thousands of jobs. Yet, the artificial intelligence (AI) data platform Databricks is moving in the opposite direction, scaling its India workforce to 1,000 employees as of March 2026. This stands in sharp contrast to sweeping layoffs by giants like Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT), as these companies restructure their workforces to meet the demands and costs of adopting AI technology.
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Trade AMZN with leverageDatabricks Bets Big on India’s AI Talent Pool
India, and Bengaluru in particular, is emerging as a strategic beneficiary of Databricks’ expansion. The private company has committed $250 million to the market, including a new Research and Development (R&D) center in Bengaluru with plans to add over 100 R&D engineers.
The move has brought its local headcount to nearly 1,000 employees, as the company builds out its artificial intelligence and data engineering capacity in the region. Beyond hiring, Databricks launched the India Data and AI Academy, targeting 500,000 partners, customers, and professionals for training in data and AI skills.
To lead the expansion, the company appointed Kamalkanth Tummala, a former Salesforce (CRM) Vice President with over 20 years of enterprise technology experience, as its India Country Manager in Sept. 2025.
Big Tech Layoffs Accelerate Amid AI Job Shifts
Amazon recently confirmed reductions of 16,000 job roles in January this year, citing efforts to reduce organizational layers and remove bureaucracy. Meanwhile, Meta announced on March 14, 2026, that it is considering cuts affecting 20% of its nearly 79,000 workforce, partly to offset mounting AI infrastructure costs. Microsoft similarly slashed up to 9,000 positions in mid-2025. Combined, the three companies collectively account for more than 35,000 potential job losses.
Against that backdrop, Databricks is working to double its partner network in India to over 800 companies, with major names like Swiggy (IN:SWIGGY), Cred, Zepto, Freshworks (FRSH), HDFC Bank (HDB), and Hindalco (IN:HINDALCO) already on board. Accenture (ACN), the global professional services firm, has further cemented its position in that ecosystem by establishing a dedicated Databricks lab in Bengaluru to accelerate data and AI innovation for clients.
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