Tech Giants' Post-COVID Shift To Smaller Cities For Talent

Some are already finding it easier to hire staff in tier 2 cities, in contrast to before the pandemic when workers largely went from smaller cities into the country's major IT hubs for jobs.

B. Ramachandran, an enginner, now prefers living in the smaller cities than the major tech hubs of Bengaluru and Chennai.

After the pandemic, the 47-year-old moved to Madurai, a temple town in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. He has no plans to leave his hometown, saying the chance to live with his ageing mother while working for New York-based technology services firm Genpact is a "blessing".

IT companies are now expanding into smaller cities, in part to tap on workers like Ramachandran, and to capitalise on cheaper land costs, rents and wages.