Wipro sees reduction in job losses, Chandni still a concern

However, Wipro chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil said moonlighting remains “a concern” in the IT industry.

The Bengaluru-based IT services firm is expected to hire around 8,000 new people across campuses in the second half of this financial year – 3,000 in the third quarter and 5,000 in the fourth quarter. Govil said the hiring could continue till the next fiscal year.

“We have seen a reduction in the number of employees in the last four quarters and it will go down in the fourth quarter (January-March). The (job) market and opportunities have slowed down and are tight now,” Govil said. Wipro introduced around 10% pay hikes a quarter ago, but Govil highlighted that the overall hiring While the craze has subsided, some jobs are still seeing high demand.

Wipro’s attrition rate in the December quarter stood at 21.2%, up from 23% in the September quarter. While the attrition rate in the IT sector remains high, Wipro’s rivals have also seen fewer attritions.

Infosys saw an attrition rate of 24.3% in Q3 compared to 27.1% in Q2, while HCL’s fell from 23.8% in Q2 to 21.7% in Q3. Tata Consultancy Services’ attrition fell from 21.5% in Q2 to 21.3% in Q3. Tech companies have been battling counter-offers, out-of-turn rage and promotions for nearly a year now.

Wipro hired 15,000 freshers from the campus in the first half. Campus hires represent the largest group of new recruits for most IT firms.

On moonlighting, Govil said Wipro has regularly received cases of employees taking advantage of remote working and moonlighting. The IT sector is plagued by workers who were found moonlighting, which is against the employment contract for most firms.

Since October, Wipro has asked employees to work from offices three days a week, and Govil said there are customers who are asking for full presence in the office.

Meanwhile, Wipro has promoted a record 12 executives to senior vice president and 61 to vice president positions in an effort to strengthen its leadership team. The company now has 200 vice presidents and 32 senior vice presidents serving under Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte following the exit of key seniors from the company.

The increase in senior teams comes at a time when promotions are becoming necessary to retain senior executives.

Last year, senior executives overseeing Wipro’s operations in four countries were ousted. They are Douglas Silva who was in charge of Brazil; Tomoaki Takeuchi, who joined as Head of Business for Japan; Sarah Adam-Gage, who took over as managing director for Australia and New Zealand; and Wipro’s business head for the Middle East region, Mohammad Aref.