Wipro sheds over 5,000 employees in Q2

IT services major Wipro saw its employee headcount shrink by more than 5,000 in the July-September quarter of financial year 2023-24 as the Bengaluru-based firm reported a marginal drop in both its profit and revenue.

Wipro's closing headcount declined from 249,758 at the end of June to 244,707 at the end of September, like what other IT services giants in the country have witnessed.

TCS, Infosys and HCLTech’s net employee addition also shrank by more than 16,000 during the July-September quarter of the ongoing financial year amid continuing macroeconomic headwinds forcing a reduction in their growth forecasts for FY24.

Now, the total headcount of the four IT majors put together stands at 1,403,595 at the end of September compared to 1,424,808 last quarter.

The company’s CEO and Managing Director Thierry Delaporte said the company continued to win in the market despite the uncertain macro environment. "We ended the second quarter with 22 accounts above the $100 million range, which is double the number we had in FY21. Our large deal total contract value reached $1.3 billion–highest in the last nine quarters," he mentioned.

Wipro’s voluntary attrition (TTM) also dropped to 15.5 per cent in the second quarter compared to 17.3 per cent in the previous quarter.  Since witnessing 23 per cent attrition during April-June 2022, the rate has steadily declined over the past 15 months.

All three IT giants also saw their voluntary attrition levels moderating to around 14 per cent—a contrast to the 20 per cent-plus attrition witnessed two years ago at the peak of the tech talent war. The opening up of plethora of tech opportunities in the wake of pandemic-led digitisation of organisations saw tech employees negotiating multiple job offers and exorbitant joining hikes. And tech organisations witnessed high offer dropout rates.

Now, however, the scenario has changed considerably as the IT majors have cut revenue growth forecasts for the ongoing financial year.

Also Read: Wipro Q2 FY24 results: Profit slips to Rs 2,646 crore YoY; revenue down too