Infosys, HCL, Wipro ramp up fresher intake as AI reshapes skills demand and hiring shifts from 'hire to train' to 'train to hire'.
IT services firm Wipro on Thursday reported a marginal increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,246.2 crore in the July-September quarter, even as company CEO and MD Srini Pallia asserted that the demand environment remains robust with discretionary spends shifting towards AI-related projects.
'We do not want a situation where we onboard people and have challenges of deployment.'
Wipro on Wednesday reported a 25.9 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,569.6 crore, but warned of a weak quarter ahead with up to 3.5 per cent expected drop in IT services revenue for Q1FY26, amid global uncertainties. CEO and Managing Director Srini Pallia said clients remain cautious in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty.
'Skilled labour is different from immigration.' 'While any adverse immigration ruling will impact Indians, it may not necessarily affect the IT services industry.'
Nasdaq-listed IT services major Cognizant on Tuesday said the firm's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal (pictured) had reached a settlement in the "non-compete" lawsuit filed by Wipro. The terms of the settlement, which was reached without any admission of liability by either party, are confidential. The settlement resolves all pending disputes between Dalal and Wipro, said the company in a statement. Cognizant has paid $505,087 (around Rs 4.1 crore) in connection with Dalal's settlement.
IT major Wipro on Friday posted a 4.6 per cent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter at Rs 3,003.2 crore. The Q1 FY25 revenue of the Bengaluru-headquartered firm, however, fell 3.8 per cent to Rs 21,963.8 crore.
Wipro on Wednesday said it expects to hire about 30,000 freshers in FY23, as the IT services major strives to ensure that supply is not a constraint in managing the robust demand environment. Amid the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the COVID virus, the company remains "very vigilant", CEO and managing director Thierry Delaporte said, adding that as a proactive measure, the company has decided to close its offices globally for the next four weeks. "It is of some relief to us that about 90 per cent of our employees globally are now vaccinated with one dose of the vaccine, and over 65 per cent are fully vaccinated with the recommended two doses. "Our plans to return to the office, even in a hybrid model, for our fully vaccinated employees, will be calibrated in the context of the evolving situation, keeping both our employees' safety and client preferences in mind," Delaporte said during Wipro's Q3 earnings calls.
The company's IT services segment had a headcount of 158,217.
To be able to manage any such uptick, Indian IT services players are hiring more locals, and relying on hybrid work models.
Attrition is driving the hiring effort on campuses.
While industry leaders Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have announced deferring wage-hike plans, other players such as Infosys and HCL Technologies are expected to follow suit, according to industry insiders.
Total income of Wipro was almost flat at Rs 15,571.4 crore at the end of the first quarter of 2020-21 compared to Rs 15,566.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20.
Revenues from IT services segment, which accounts for a significant portion of the company's topline, stood at $2.013 billion, remaining flat sequentially and up by 5.8 per cent year-on-year.
While there has been an improvement in the overall demand environment, the other reason expected to trigger this growth is the absence of a bench strength in most companies
The company's decision comes when there has been a dip in intake due to tepid demand, increasing automation, reports Debashis Mohapatra.
Most large companies have curbed their hiring plans in 2018-19 because they continue to invest in digital technologies.
'Young people are digital natives.' 'Hence, their ability to learn coding and to become a full stack engineer is far more.' 'The demand for such people is more as we feel that if we hire people from campuses, we can train them to become what we want.'
Expert staff in the line of fire in the tech sector. Analysts attribute these job losses to a slowdown in growth, automation of lower-end work.
The jury is still out on whether this will lead to re-skilling.
Rishad joined the company in June 2007.
The past few weeks have seen several hundred people let go of by IT services firms joining unions claiming to represent tech workers fighting for their rights.
Amidst fear of layoffs across many IT companies, Saurabh Govil, bottom left, head of Wipro's Human resources, explains who are the affected lot and why it is essential to re-skill for employees in this sector.
Amid Trump's expected action against employment visas, India's bellwether IT firms reveal they have been preparing for this eventuality for years.
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