Even as three major IT companies in India — TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies — recorded a net decline in their headcounts during the second quarter ended September 2023 (Q2 FY24), there is a mixed trend on their hiring plans going forward. While Infosys has no plans to visit campuses for hiring as yet, HCL Tech expects to close FY24 with about 10,000 fresher hires. TCS is as of now not clear if it will visit campuses or not.
TCS Hiring Plans
In an analysts’ call post Q2 results on October 11, TCS Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said, “Our strategy of proactively hiring bright freshers and investing in training them with the right skills is paying off now. With that talent coming on stream and with reduced attrition, we were able to recalibrate our gross additions, keeping it below the departures during the quarter, driving the productivity, and enhancing project outcomes.”
Though he did not explicitly say if the company visiting campuses for hiring or not, the company is calibrating its hiring plans.
During the September 2023 quarter, TCS’ headcount fell by 6,333. Its total number of employees as of September 30 this year stood at Rs 608,985, compared with 6,15,318.
Its IT services attrition on the last-twelveth-month stood at 14.9 per cent during the September 2023 quarter, which is lower than in previous quarters.
Infosys Hiring Plans
In a post-Q2 results conference, Infosys Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy said the company does not have plans to go to campuses to hire as yet and will evaluate hiring plans each quarter. The company hired about 50,000 freshers last year.
“With that slowing down over this year, utilisation had fallen into the 70s and therefore, now quarter on quarter you’re seeing an improvement. We still have a significantly fresher bench. We are training them on new skills,” he said.
There is headroom to improve utilisation, which is currently at 81.8 per cent, he said.
Infosys’ total employee strength declined to 3,28,764 as of September 2023 from 3,36,294 in the previous quarter, a decline of 7,530 in headcount.
Infosys’ IT services attrition on a twelve-month basis declined further to 14.6 per cent.
HCL Technologies Fresher Hiring Plans
Talking to the media on October 12 after Q2 results, HCL Tech Chief People Officer Ramachandran Sundararajan said the company expects to hire about 5,000 freshers during October-March FY24, closing out the year with about 10,000 fresher hires. HCL hired about 5,200 freshers during April-September FY24.
“In terms of campus programmes and visits to campus, we continue the programme. There’s no change in the plan. As we speak, my colleagues are all active, visiting campuses,” he said.
HCL Technologies’ total headcount also declined during July-September 2023 and stood at 2.21 lakh at the end of the quarter. It is a decline of 2,299 employees from the previous quarter. HCL Tech also saw attrition ease to 14.2 per cent.
Infosys, HCL, TCS Salary Hikes
After deferring salary hikes by a quarter, Infosys and HCL Technologies have now decided to roll out salary hikes. While Infosys will go ahead with pay revision from October onwards, HCL is planning to do it from November 1. However, TCS rolled out hikes in Q1FY24 to employees and gave up to 12-15 per cent for top performers.
TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech: Q2 Financial Results
Kick-starting Q2 earnings season, TCS posted an 8.73 per cent growth in its net profit to Rs 11,342 crore for the September 2023 quarter. Its revenue during July-September 2023 rose 7.92 per cent to Rs 59,692 crore.
Infosys has reported a 3.2 per cent rise in its Q2 net profit to Rs 6,212 crore. Its revenue during July-September 2023 increased 6.7 per cent to Rs 38,994 crore.
HCL Tech posted a 9.83 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 3,832 crore for the quarter. Its revenue from operations during July-September 2023 increased 8.04 per cent to Rs 26,672 crore.
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