IT services major Wipro said on October 12 that net employee addition during the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 was only 605 people, taking its headcount to 2,59,179 as of September 30, 2022.
The net addition is significantly lower than last quarter, when it stood at 15,446 employees, Wipro said while announcing Q2 results.
ALSO READ: Wipro Q2 result | Profit drops 9% to Rs 2,659 crore; revenue climbs 15%
Addressing the press, Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte said that the firm had hired 14,000 freshers in the first half of the fiscal year. In Q1, Wipro said it had hired over 10,000 freshers. For FY23, Wipro had planned to hire 38,000 freshers.
The fall in Wipro's net addition also comes at a time when there have been several complaints of freshers awaiting onboarding, which they say has been delayed without offering a timeline even as campus placements for the next set of graduates are about to begin.
In response to the query about delay, Wipro's leadership said that all offers made will be honoured.
Wipro made its highest-ever net addition in FY22, adding 45,416 employees in the year.
Wipro's attrition rate for the quarter was 23 percent, down from 23.3 percent in the previous quarter. With this, Wipro's attrition rate continues to fall after a slight dip in Q1. Wipro was the only IT major to report a decrease in attrition last quarter. Earlier this week, TCS reported that its attrition for the second quarter went up from 19.7 percent to 21.5 percent sequentially.
The IT major rolled out its scheduled salary hikes to employees in September. CHRO Saurabh Govil had informed employees that 96 percent of all eligible employees would receive their salary hikes based on performance and on meeting the eligibility criteria.
Wipro is also rolling out promotions quarterly to its top performers, up to the mid-management level.
"We continue to invest in and upskill our talent to stay ahead of our clients’ evolving needs. In the second quarter, we promoted more than 10,000 colleagues and increased salaries across bands. We are pleased to report that we recorded a third consecutive quarter of moderation in attrition," said CEO Thierry Delaporte.
This also comes after Wipro slashed variable payouts in the first quarter. While those in junior bands received 70 percent of their variable pay, those in Band C and above did not receive their variable pay for the quarter, which was attributed to margin pressures.
The company is also asking employees to return to offices thrice a week from the week starting October 10.
Last month, Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji had said the company had found 300 people also working with competitors. Wipro, at the time, had said that employees “found to be operating in circumstances that are in direct conflict with Wipro’s interests” were terminated.
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