25% Infosys Employees Resigned In 90 Days; TCS Attrition Is Lowest At 15%

India’s biggest tech firms are undergoing record levels of attrition, with TCS, Infosys and Wipro reporting an increase in the quarter ended December, the highest in the last three years.

Infosys

However, the three also made a net addition of nearly 51,000 people to their combined headcount.

Infosys’ attrition rate reached the highest in recent quarters at 25.5%.

It may be attributed to the company’s talent being poached by rivals seeking growth from clients globally.

TCS

TCS reported the lowest rate of the lot at 15.3%.

It hired 43,000 freshers in the first half of fiscal 2022.

In the third quarter itself, it onboarded 34,000 freshers planned for the entire second half.

Its headcount stood at 556,986 at the end of December.

Wipro

Wipro reported attrition of 22.7% for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31.

It also made a net addition of 10,306 employees during the quarter, taking its total headcount to 231,671.

This is a net increase of 41,363 over a year earlier.

Hiring To Fill The Gaps

Infosys added 15,125 people in the quarter, taking its total strength to 292,067.

The three companies collectively made a net addition of over 134,000 employees in the ongoing fiscal- a 4x jump from last year.

The high attrition rates combined with strong net additions is a reflection of high demand for digital talent.

The supply crunch of experienced IT talent has led to an increase in attrition.

Not Slowing Anytime Soon

This double-digit 15-25% attrition is expected to continue for the next 2-3 quarters since there is no tested method developed to curb near term attrition.

Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte said that the company is focused on hiring, having “added in three quarters what took 11 quarters in the past”.

They remain “focused on building world class talent and on ensuring that growth isn’t constrained.”

He said that they expect attrition to stabilise but it would take a few more quarters for it to happen.

Wipro’s Strategy

To offset the losses of attrition, it is prioritising talent acquisition and development.

To that end, it has further increased its global graduate hiring programme to over 55,000 for FY22.

The company also offered a second round of salary hikes for 80% of its employees during the previous quarter.

Offices Closed

Delaporte said that all Wipro offices globally will be shut for the next 4 weeks in view of the omicron situation.

A hybrid model of office return will be assessed in the context of the evolving situation.

As vaccination gains pace, Wipro will start to bring more employees back to office, with at least 50% of the total strength fully vaccinated and 85% with at least one dose.