Coding is the only global language, I wish more Indian kids learn it: Apple CEO Tim Cook

 

Over 90% of Wipro’s freshers chose a lower salary option: CFO Jatin Dalal

  

According to a top executive at Wipro, approximately 92% of the company's new campus hires have accepted the offer to fast-track onboarding by accepting a lower salary option. Last year, the company offered some of its new hires the opportunity to participate in a four to six-month-long program called 'Velocity' that would upgrade their salary packages from the initial offer of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum to Rs 6.5 lakh. However, some of them were later offered the option to choose the original package of Rs 3.5 lakh.

Jatin Dalal, the chief financial officer at Wipro, explained that the environment today is different from what it was a year ago, and the race to hire ahead of demand has been replaced by a more measured approach in light of the declining attrition rates and the ongoing economic uncertainty. He emphasized that decisions regarding freshers are made with full fairness and transparency, and the 92% of campus hires who chose to join Wipro at the original offer were given both options. Dalal stated that the company would continue to onboard next-gen associates based on their business needs throughout the year.

In February, the labor union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) filed a complaint against Wipro with the central labor ministry, alleging an "unethical reduction" in salary offers for more than 4,000 candidates. While ET could not independently verify the number, Dalal clarified that most of the decisions made by the company are done with full transparency, with the same spirit taken in making the fair decision that was thought to be just.

Wipro will train the employees on the crowdsourcing platform Topcoder and extend other unique benefits to them, which are evident from the company's falling attrition. In FY23, Wipro's net addition to its workforce was 13,793, down to about a third from 45,416 in FY22. The company has onboarded approximately 22,000 freshers in FY23, which is a record intake, but it has not disclosed a comparative figure for FY24, stating that it will undertake hiring based on demand requirements.

Regarding the overall demand, Dalal said that the IT industry is going through a short period of adjustment where clients are prioritizing spending, and discretionary spending is being paused in the banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), retail, and consulting verticals. However, he expressed confidence that the period of adjustment wouldn't last long. Additionally, the exit of two top executives from Wipro, Angan Guha, chief executive of Americas II, and Rajan Kohli, president and head of Wipro digital and consulting businesses, has demonstrated the company's deep bench of leadership that the industry will absorb. The CFO believes that the two executives have left to pursue their ambition of becoming CEOs of external organizations, but Wipro has hired top talent from outside and feels comfortable with its abilities. Kohli will be leading the mid-cap firm CitiusTech, while Guha will head Birlasoft, another mid-cap IT firm.