HCL to hire 2,000 software engineers to serve new customers

India’s fourth-largest software exporter HCL Technologies plans to hire 2,000 software engineers in the next three-four months to leverage new client base and existing operations across verticals, said a top company executive.

While 30% of the new hires would be freshers, the remaining 70% will comprise experienced professionals. This will take the company’s total workforce to more than 57,000 globally.

The software major struck various IT outsourcing services deal in the past few months, which has led to an increase in demand for workforce. Till last year, the company was high on campus hiring and took 15,000 freshers and professionals on rolls.

However, the firm intends to go slow on campus hiring this year owing to overall slowdown in demand for IT services world-wide.

“We are following just-in-time model of hiring. Unlike earlier when we used to give hiring guidance 18 months in advance, it will be a quarter or two in advance, as we are yet to have a clear visibility on where the industry is heading. Focus will be on lateral hiring for core IT processes across sectors,” said HCL Technologies global head (human resources) Dilip Kumar Srivastava.

He said the company has no plans to alter the compensation package of the freshers and that variable component of the salary will solely be performance based. Early this year, the company had put a freeze on employee salaries and resorted to bonus cutbacks, citing tight demand and declining volumes in the US and Europe as the rationale.

HCL has added a couple of new clients in the past few months. The firm bagged two IT outsourcing services contracts worth $110 million from Texas-based energy companies, Energy Future Holdings and Oncor.

To support the growing business, the company will also scale up headcount in Texas over the next few months.
The company currently serves clients in sectors, such as aerospace, defence, financial services, government, retail, lifesciences and telecom.