Paradox at the top: IT executives exit faster as overall churn hits record low

IT companies are quietly rebuilding their C-suites as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the way technology firms are run at the top.Even as overall executive attrition fell to a record low in 2025, senior leaders are accounting for a disproportionately large share of total departures. And a growing number of those exits are not by choice, according to data from Aon.AI shifts, role rationalisation and tighter performance standards have driven the share of involuntary senior executive exits to a six-year high.The rise of the forced exitThe nature of those exits is also changing. Involuntary attrition, or forced departures, rose sharply to 34 percent of all executive attrition in 2025, the highest level in at least six years and more than double the 15 percent recorded in 2024.Jang Bahadur Singh, associate partner, talent solutions, India, at Aon, said the reasons go beyond cost-cutting. “It is not just austerity or demand shocks, but AI-driven operating-model changes, role rationalisation and tighter performance expectations. Firms are becoming leaner and more tech-led at the top, exiting roles and leaders that no longer fit the AI-first structure,” he said further.Meanwhile, executive attrition as a ratio of overall attrition climbed to 48.2 percent in 2025, up from 44.5 percent in the previous year. It was at an all-time high of 75.1 percent in 2023, data from Aon shows.The growing share of leadership exits is occurring even as the absolute volume of departures slows. Overall executive layer attrition fell to a record low of 5.3 percent in 2025, down sharply from a peak of 13.7 percent in 2023.The bottom line here is that, in 2025 while fewer executives left IT companies in absolute terms, out of those who did exit, almost half of them were from the top.Where the movers are headedThe voluntary departures, meanwhile, point to changing market opportunities.Singh noted that executives who choose to move are increasingly heading to newly set-up Global Capability Centres (GCCs), migrating from large firms to mid-size players for growth-focussed roles, or making lateral moves into Indian conglomerates and financial services.Compensation pressures are also intensifying on both sides of the market.“In GCCs, pay is increasingly benchmarked to global compensation levels, while, in IT services firms, executive pay is being pushed up by a sharp demand-supply imbalance for experienced, ‘vintage’ CXO talent,” Singh says.Singh adds that the message to the industry was direct and clear: Leaders who can scale their impact, embrace AI and operate in global, tech-led contexts will continue to be strongly rewarded.This trend is playing out most visibly at India’s largest IT firm: TCS saw more than 300 senior leaders exit in eight months through March 31, representing roughly 16 percent of its top 1,800 executives, strikingly higher than the 4-5 percent annual attrition the company had historically seen at senior levels, according to media reports.

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