Wipro move to cut freshers’ salaries sparks uncertainty
2 min read . Updated: 21 Feb 2023, 06:17 AM IST
PremiumStudent hired for Turbo programme at ₹6.5 lakh per annum, gets placed in Elite at ₹3.5 lakh
Wipro Ltd has asked campus hires selected for one programme to join another that pays 46% less, in a move that has sparked uncertainty among the chosen candidates. India’s fourth largest software services company wrote to tech graduates it had hired for the Turbo programme with salary offers of ₹6.5 lakh per annum that they would instead be placed in the Elite programme, which offers ₹3.5 lakh.
Turbo recruits get the higher salary after undergoing and clearing an online training programme called Velocity in the last three months of their college wherein they learn Java, AWS and full stack. So, a student initially gets hired for 3.5 lakh; and after Velocity training, gets 6.5 lakh under Turbo.
“In light of the changing macro environment and, as a result, our business needs, we had to adjust our onboarding plans," Wipro said in response to a query.The latest move that effectively lowers the joining pay of new hires follows Wipro’s onboarding delays and retrenchment of 400 new joinees after stringent screening tests, in a sign of mounting troubles for engineering graduates as a global recession looms.
Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which tracks employee grievances in the tech sector, alleged that the candidates were not consulted before placing the revised offer.
“...condemns Wipro’s unethical move to reduce the salaries of employees awaiting joining from a package of 6.5 lakhs per annum to 3.5 lakhs per annum. The decision to cut the salaries of the employees without prior consultation and negotiation is not only unjust but also goes against the principles of fairness and transparency," said Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES.
“Those in Turbo teams have gone through training in full stack, Java etc. during the last three months of their semester under a training programme called Velocity. I was told I will be under the Turbo team with a salary of ₹6.5 lakh and waited eight months to join the company," said a computer science graduate from West Bengal.
In its latest email, Wipro told the female fresher that she has the option to join the Elite team at the reduced salary, and there is no assurance on when whether Turbo will have open positions again.
“I gave up other jobs which had offered ₹4 lakh salary and now will take a job at a startup," the engineer said.
“As we work to honour all outstanding offers made, this current offer creates an immediate opportunity for candidates to start their careers, build their expertise and acquire new skills—both through the interesting and innovative work that we do, as well as our extensive learning and development programmes," Wipro said in its statement.
Those who have been onboarded are facing stringent screening tests and about 2,500 new hires may be asked to leave from IT services firms as they couldn’t clear the tests. This number is unusually high and Wipro said it has "let go of 452 freshers after they performed poorly in assessments repeatedly even after training". Prior to this, those who were recruited from campuses also faced onboarding delays. Wipro has said that on many occasions the company will “honour" all fresher hiring. The large IT services firms are expected to take in 180,000 from engineering campuses this fiscal, of which Wipro is expected to recruit 38,000.
