The Adani Group is looking to build a fully homegrown workforce and eventually phase out lateral hiring, Chairman Gautam Adani said on Friday while outlining a long-term talent strategy alongside a broader organisational overhaul aimed at speeding up execution.
“I wish for a time—very soon—when lateral hiring at the Adani Group stops completely, and we rely solely on homegrown talent. This is not merely a career path; it is a journey of absolute trust,” Adani said in an address on International Labour Day.
The push toward internal talent is also tied to a strong focus on local hiring. “We believe that wherever we work, the land, the people, and the dreams of that place should grow with us,” he said, adding that the group prioritises employment for local communities before looking beyond state or national talent pools.
The shift comes amid a sharp acceleration in the group’s growth trajectory. “Over our first 35 years, we collectively built assets worth approximately ₹2 lakh crore. And today, such is our standing that within this single year alone, we are going to add another ₹2 lakh crore in new assets,” he said.
To support this expansion, the group is rolling out three structural changes, starting with a “three-layer model” aimed at flattening hierarchies and accelerating decision-making.
“As organizations grow larger, decisions become slower, and things take longer to move from one level to another. We don’t want this to happen,” Adani said.
“We want decisions that currently take three days to be made at a site to be made in just three hours.”
He added that a leaner structure would also open up opportunities for younger employees. “When layers are reduced, decisions are made faster, work speed increases, and the entire organization is filled with new energy.”
The second pillar of the overhaul is a partnership-led execution model, which seeks to streamline operations across project sites.
“Today, at many of our sites, more than 100 contractors are working simultaneously. Coordinating such many people requires a distinct organizational framework,” Adani said. The group now plans to work with a smaller set of trusted partners who can take end-to-end responsibility for projects, improving speed and accountability.
The third pillar focuses on learning and development, with an emphasis on continuous skill-building and clear career progression. “If someone is unskilled, they should become semi-skilled; from semi-skilled, they should progress to being skilled; and eventually, they should rise to become a supervisor, manager, or leader,” he added.
Published on May 1, 2026