Infosys announces wage hike, Wipro follows suit

NR Narayana Murthy has made his first significant move upon returning to Infosys by effecting an unexpected round of wage increases for the company's 1.5 lakh employees. By doing so, analysts said, the Infosys chairman is trying to kill several birds with one stone, displaying tactical finesse that has earned him a reputation as one of India's canniest entrepreneurs.

On Thursday, less than a fortnight after Murthy came back to helm the company, Infosys announced an average increment of 8% for India employees, effective from July 1. For employees outside India, the company said the increments will be 3%, albeit with some riders. The biggest push was reserved for its global sales force which will get a raise of 8% effective May.

Wipro, which announced increments in July last year, also sent a note about an hour after the news from Infosys. It said it is giving an average increment of 6-8% for offshore employees and 2-3% for onsite employees, effective from June 2013. For high-performers, the raise will be in double digits. A Wipro spokeswoman said the emailed note was in response to media queries.

"There have been serious issues with employee motivation levels at Infosys. Wipro rolling out wage hikes on the same day shows that it wants to ensure the company doesn't lose employees to Infosys," said Pradeep Mukerji, president and managing partner at outsourcing advisory firm Avasant. Infosys's populist move — a certain vote-winner among staff — could raise morale, enhance Murthy's stock of goodwill and send out a message to all stakeholders and rivals that the Infosys co-founder is back and means business. "By announcing wage hikes, Infosys wants to calm down anxiety among its employees and stabilize things within the organization. It is a smart move; however, we do not expect more bold moves from Murthy," said Manish Bahl, country manager at Forrester Research. "He will be focused on getting things aligned, talking to clients and creating expertise on the product innovation side." Read more