Despite the recent shifts in dynamics, it appears that the IT sector remains at its position as one of the top choices in the youth who are looking to commence their careers.
Concern Over Freshers Salary Remains Unchanged For Years
But there is also a concern about the low salaries offered for the freshers.
Besides this, the technology majors such as TCS and Infosys witnessed a headcount decline following the December quarter earnings.
Raising the concerns, media asked TCS about the reason regarding fresher salaries which hovered around the Rs 3-4 lakh per annum range for years.
In response to this, the TCS’ chief human resources officer (CHRO) Milind Lakkad answered that “We are paying based on the talent and we encourage people to come at different cadres.”
He further said that “if freshers or existing employees are willing to upskill, then they can earn double and for some skills salaries go up to Rs 10 lakh.”
Adding, “We offer close to ₹10 lakh for innovators. We are hiring people from NITs and IITs where we pay a lot more.”
But interestingly on the question of what is the starting salary for freshers now, Lakkad confirmed that it is the same as it has been for the past many years.
Reducing Headcounts in IT Firm
According to Lakkad, once freshers join, they must understand the path to take.
Lakkad said, “You take this path, your salary will double.”
Interestingly, these statements released a day after the firm’s quarterly results were revealed.
Where, the IT giant revealed that its headcount has reduced for the second consecutive quarter by 5,680 employees in the October to December 2023 period.
With this, the total company strength stood at 603,305 and its attrition level has come down to 13.3%.
Lakkad said, “When you look at headcount, you should look at the long term. Longer term means we hired a whole bunch of people…very large numbers in FY22 and FY23. And we were leveraging all of this workforce over the past three quarters, and we continue to leverage that.”
“If coupled with disciplined execution if you bring these things together, you will end up with a negative headcount. If you look at our gross hiring in this quarter, it is still a big number,” Lakkad said.
Adding, he won’t be surprised if the headcount moderates further.
On the subject of campus hiring, he said that they are hiring for FY25 and that campuses are buzzing.
Further adding that the company always decides based on the quarterly demand and tunes it based on what is needed at a time.
He said, “Campus hiring is a strong element of our business and that continues. Every quarter we are hiring in big numbers.”
