New Delhi: Citing an unstable business climate, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has chosen to postpone staff pay increases until 2025. The statement was made on April 10 at the company’s press conference in Mumbai following its Q4 earnings.
“Because of the uncertain environment, we will decide during the year on wage hikes. It can be at any time, depending on business,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad. While not ruling out salary increases entirely, Lakkad clarified that the timing and scale of the hikes will be evaluated as the financial year progresses.
As businesses struggle with slowdowns in major regions, particularly North America, where client decision-making and cost-cutting measures are still delayed, the decision underscores increased caution in the Indian IT sector.
The business has kept up its hiring momentum despite its conservative approach to wage increases. At the end of FY25, TCS had 6,07,979 workers, a net increase of 6,433 over the previous year. There were 625 new hires in the fourth quarter alone.
Lakkad confirmed that trainee onboarding for FY25 stood at 42,000 as planned, with fresher hiring likely to remain steady or slightly higher in the next fiscal year.
“We continue to hire from campuses, and the number could be slightly higher this year than what we added last year,” he said. “Fresher hiring will be similar or may be higher in FY26.”
Lakkad refused to comment when questioned about the size of possible hikes, stating that any choices would be based on the changing business environment.
Regarding staff retention, TCS reported a little increase in their attrition rate for Q4 FY25, going from 13 per cent to 13.3 per cent. Lakkad did, however, convey confidence in the business’s capacity to handle turnover. “Our quarterly annualized attrition rate has decreased by 130 basis points, despite TTM attrition having slightly increased,” he stated, suggesting better retention momentum in the near term.
Annual wage increases have been postponed at a time when many tech companies are trying to balance profitability and talent investments. Although conservative, TCS’s strategy allows for flexibility if business conditions improve in the upcoming months.
TCS’s ongoing emphasis on reducing attrition and onboarding new talent may offer some comfort to workers as they await clarification on pay revisions. The company’s measured strategy, which aims to maintain long-term competitiveness while navigating current uncertainty, indicates a strategic congruence with the outlook of the global market.
