Mumbai, January 7: HCLTech began rolling out the salary hike for junior employees in the October to December quarter. However, this was a partial rollout with a slight increment in the wage. India's third-largest IT company rolled out a 1% to 2% salary increment for the junior employees while the top performers received a 3% to 4% raise, as per a report.

This comes after Infosys delayed its salary hike for many employees amid uncertainty about the global demand for discretionary IT services. During 2024, the tech industry witnessed many challenges, which led companies to reduce pay or lay off some employees. Some companies posted lower profits, which made them announce restructuring and rely on cost-cutting measures to meet the global demand. Infosys Salary Hike Deferred: Report Says IT Firm Postpones Annual Raise to Fourth Quarter for Current Financial Year, Here's What It Means for Employees.

HCL Technologies salary hike is no exception, as it delayed the wage cycle amid a challenging business environment. The report suggested that HCLTech delayed the salary raise to defend the margin amid uncertainty over discretionary spending. It mentioned that the tech giant rolled out the salary hike for the E0, E1 and E2 level staff members, which mainly included junior employees with less than 10 years of experience.

The slight salary increase stood out differently than the company's commentary on offering a 7% average annual pay raise and a 12% to 15% raise to the top-performing employees. The company has yet to announce any update on the increment for the E3-level employees. The report highlighted that these senior employees have not received any salary hikes in the last two fiscal years. Boston Dynamics Layoffs: US-Based Robotics Company Cuts 5% of Workforce Amid Cash Flow Challenges, Faces Intensified Competition Ahead, Says Report.

In response, the HCLTech management said they skipped the compensation reviews for the senior to management level employees for the year while E0 and E1 staff members got their 1-2% and 3-4% raise during the last week of December 2024. The E3 staff stood without any salary hike for two fiscals, and on the other hand, the E4 level staff were not offered any increment for the past three years. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 07, 2025 12:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).