TCS gives 12-15% hike for 'exceptional performers', kicks off promotions cycle

The IT major is focussing on bringing employees back to work — and 53 percent of the company’s workforce currently works out of the office for three days a week.

In a move that brings cheer in an otherwise muted quarter, software firm TCS said it has given pay hikes to the tune of 12-15 for 'exceptional performers' and has kicked off its promotions cycle. The hikes were effective from April 1.

“We have given a 12-15 percent raise for exceptional performers in our latest annual compensation review, and also commenced the promotions cycle,” Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said in a statement.

In fact, the company’s margins saw an impact of 200bps due to the impact of wage hikes. In a statement, Chief Financial Officer Samir Seksaria said the company has rolled out hikes from April 1, and that the company’s operating margin of 23.2 percent reflects the 200bps impact of the hike. TCS saw its operating margin fall by 120 bps overall, from 24.5 percent last quarter to 23.2 percent this quarter.

In FY23, TCS employees in FY23 saw a median remuneration increase of 5.11 percent as per the company’s annual report.

The news of the hike comes at an interesting time when Infosys has deferred the hikes that it gives to non-senior employees in the first quarter of the year, as employees are yet to receive any information on the same.

Lakkad said in a statement that the IT major is focussing on bringing employees back to work — and 53 percent of the company’s workforce currently works out of the office for three days a week.

“We remain focused on developing, retaining and rewarding the best talent in the industry, and enhancing their effectiveness by bringing them back to office to foster our culture,” he said.

In addition, those in the company logged 12.7 million learning hours on upskilling in skills such as generative AI, cloud, data and analytics.

For the quarter, Infosys added 523 employees on a net basis quarter, when it has been deferring the onboarding on lateral recruits even as fresher onboarding delays continue.

“While we are committed to honour all the offers we have made, our focus will be on leveraging the capacity we built last year,” he said.