Wipro CFO admits to cutting fresher salaries to half

BENGALURU, INDIA — Tech giant Wipro admitted to cutting the salaries of its newly hired fresh graduates at about half of what they were initially offered.

The firm reportedly gave its campus hires appointment letters last year, offering about Rs 6.5 lakh (US$7,900) annually. After months of hiring delays, Wipro reached out again in February, offering Rs 3.5 lakh (US$4,300) in exchange for being hired immediately.

Wipro Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal said that 92% of them agreed to the deep cut.

In an interview with Economic Times, Dalal added that hiring freshers with lower salaries were taken “with full fairness and transparency” and that the firm “will continue to onboard next-gen associates based on our business needs throughout the year.”

However, the labor union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) filed a complaint against the company, alleging an “unethical reduction” in salary offers of more than 4,000 candidates.

Other industry analysts also believe this move could motivate Wipro’s rivals to try similar tactics as they struggle with high recruitment costs.

In FY23, Wipro’s net addition to its workforce was 13,793, down from 45,416 in FY22. The company onboarded around 22,000 freshers in FY23–a record intake–but it did not disclose a comparative figure for FY24, saying it will undertake the hiring based on the demand requirements.