TCS To Resume Pay Hikes, Ramps Up Hiring As It Bounces Back From Covid-19 Disruption

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. said it has increased hiring and will resume pay hikes as the IT firm leaves behind disruption from the pandemic.

“We are happy to announce that we will be rolling out salary increases, effective Oct. 1,” Milind Lakkad, global head of human resources at TCS, said in the media statement announcing the company's September quarter results. “We started onboarding fresh ers, and increased our recruitment globally in Q2, in anticipation of the growth trajectory we see ahead.”

In April, TCS had decided to freeze salary hikes this year due to uncertainty stemming from the pandemic. It had assured employees that there will be no layoffs and neither will the job offers to 40,000 new hires be rescinded.

India's largest software services outsourcer has seen its profit rise and margin bounce back in the July-September period on the back of strong deal wins and smoothening of supply-side constraints.

With the company reporting better financials this quarter, it now has enough clarity to resume new hiring and salary hikes. “The strong order book, a very robust deal pipeline, and continued market share gains give us confidence for the future,” Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Gopinathan said in the statement.

TCS made around 16,000 gross additions to its workforce during the July-September period. It's attrition rate stood at 8.9%—an all-time low.

“We continue to invest in our people and are doubling down on building newer capabilities to power the next leg of our growth and market share expansion,” said Chief Financial Officer V Ramakrishan in the statement.

The IT firm had over 4.53 lakh employees as of September end.

Shares of TCS closed 1.42% higher before the buyback and earnings announcement. That compares with a 0.66% gain in the benchmark Nifty 50 Index.