Wipro Can Fire Employees, Enforce Unpaid Leaves To Save Costs; Hiring Will Not Stop

By Mohul Ghosh Last updated Apr 17, 2020

Wipro Can Fire Employees, Enforce Unpaid Leaves To Save Costs; Hiring Will Not Stop

India’s leading IT firm Wipro has said that firing employees can be considered in the coming days, in order to save costs.

Employees can be asked to go on unpaid leaves as well.

However, the silver lining is that, hiring won’t be stopped.

Wipro: Business Hit Due To Coronavirus

Wipro declared their 4th quarter earnings, and not surprisingly, their forecast is low due to the coronavirus impact.

While speaking with CNBC after the announcement of their results, CFO Jatin Dalal and President & Chief Human Resources Organisation (CHRO) Saurabh Govil said that the company is looking at ways to bring down the costs.

Within 15 days, Wipro has experienced a dip of 0.7% to 0.8% in business.

Dalal said, “There are many indications to show that the pandemic is worse than the global financial meltdown. In 15 days alone, due to just the discontinued operations, we have seen a 0.7-0.8% hit to the business”.

Due to this, they need to bring down the costs, and there can be layoffs.

Wipro’s 4th quarter net profit has reduced by 6% to Rs 2345 crore, but revenues increased to Rs 15,296 crore, which is a marginal increase.

Wipro: We Need To Bring Down Costs; Layoffs Can Happen

As per Saurabh, the company is looking at various options to bring down the costs amidst the global recession, which has already started.

Enforcing their employees to go on unpaid leaves, and terminating employees cannot be ruled out.

Wipro is also looking keenly at their sub-contractors, and some major changes can be announced soon.

He said, “We will look at if people can go on furloughs and leaves. If sub-contractor costs can come down and if we can deploy people there. We will have to cut costs wherever possible. These are tough times and we may have to take tough decisions.”

Wipro Will Keep On Hiring

At the same time, Wipro has said that they will keep on the hiring spree, especially campus placements.

Govil said, “There is no reason why the company cant hire freshers this year, considering the long-term relationship with colleges but the decision on how many will be taken and when it will be done only after the impact on the company is more clear,”

As of now, 93% of Wipro’s employees are working from home.