Wipro’s salary shocker for freshers upsets other candidates

Several candidates have expressed concerns over the gap between their time of graduation and the start of their job.

Wipro is facing a new challenge as freshers, who were offered a salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum (LPA) to work as project engineers, are raising concerns about being made to wait while other candidates with higher offers are being given the option to join at lower packages. This adds to the IT company’s recent difficulties and the wider IT services industry, which is grappling with several challenges.

The company offers two hiring programmes for graduates: Elite and Turbo. Elite candidates are offered Rs 3.5 LPA, while Turbo candidates are offered Rs 6.5 LPA. It was these candidates who qualified for Turbo through the company’s Velocity programme that received the offer to be onboarded in March if they agreed to the lower salary. Elite candidates are questioning why they are still being made to wait while the jobs are being offered to Turbo candidates.

The move to offer Turbo candidates roles that Elite candidates are eligible for has not gone down well.

Candidates Moneycontrol spoke with expressed a mix of resentment and fellow feeling, not only because Turbo candidates are given priority, but also because they were asked if they would accept a significantly lower salary.

Wipro hired candidates for the Elite programme in two phases: December 2021-January 2022 and April-May 2022. Elite Phase 1 candidates, who received their offers while still in college with a semester to go, are now questioning why they have been forced to wait since graduation while Turbo candidates were given the option to be onboarded. Wipro reportedly onboarded 1,500 candidates in the last week of December. Moneycontrol was unable to confirm this independently.

One such candidate awaiting onboarding, Shyam (name changed) who received a letter of intent from the company in November 2021 and an offer letter in January 2022, said that he also completed an unpaid internship with the company.

“Now, as of February 16, Wipro claims to have Project Engineer Roles (Elite Rs 3.5 LPA) available, but instead of onboarding the 1 year-waiting Elite candidates to whom they have offered a package of Rs 3.5 LPA, they are forcing Turbo candidates with Rs 6.5 LPA to convert to Elite roles by taking advantage of the current employment market,” he said.

“It has been 1 year and 1 month since I accepted the offer letter. They have created a gap in my career. They frequently mailed us the updates before, but now are silent for months,” he added.

Several candidates have expressed concerns over the gap between their time of graduation and the start of their job. Manu (name changed), a Turbo candidate who was awaiting onboarding, decided to try his luck at other companies, but claims he was questioned about why there was such a gap even if he managed to get an interview in the current job market.

Tired, he has opted to accept Wipro’s slashed pay offer. “I need to start my career in IT at some point, even if this is not ideal. I already have a very big gap in my resume,” he said.

Shyam has had a similar experience. He claimed that when he got a referral and an interview, companies rejected him because they want students from the 2023 graduating class.

“Unable to answer to parents. Relatives who do not know about recession and what is going on the IT industry scold me that I did not study anything from college and I am a waste engineer and force me to join a call centre or a temporary job for Rs 10,000 per month,” Shyam said, adding that despite landing multiple offers during placements, he is currently left with nothing.

“If they have openings for Elite, they should onboard the thousands of Elite candidates who are waiting. This is how they are cheating Elite candidates by not onboarding even though there are openings, and Turbo by revising their offer from Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh and filling the openings with less pay,” he added.

Priyanka (name changed) also received her offer letter in January 2022, with an onboarding date that was later pushed. “Along with the Turbo students, Elite Phase 1 too deserve answers,” she said.

Several candidates have expressed concern about not hearing back from the company or being told that they will be onboarded based on business requirements.

“They gave us false hope that they are going to honour the OLs (offer letters) they issued…We kept on believing they are going to onboard one day or other and even after 8 months they still don't have any answer. They doomed us,” Priyanka said.

Queries sent to Wipro were unanswered at the time of publishing, and will be updated when the company responds.

Moneycontrol reported earlier this week that the company had offered scores of its Turbo candidates the option to take a reduced pay and be onboarded in March. At the time, Wipro said in a statement that it had to adjust onboarding plans in light of the changing macro environment and its business needs.

The company has continued to maintain that it will honour all outstanding offers that it has made, but cannot offer candidates a timeline.

In a statement, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an IT employees union, said that it was “unacceptable that the burden of the company's financial troubles is being placed solely on the shoulders of the employees.”

“We demand that the management reconsider its decision and engage in meaningful dialogue with the union to find a mutually beneficial solution. We will not stand by while the rights and dignity of our members are being violated,” it said.