TCS, Infosys and HCLTech: Indian software giants are in cost-cutting mode

While the total workforce base at Infosys declined by 7,530 and by 6,333 and 2,399 at TCS and HCLTech, respectively. This is the sixth consecutive quarter that IT hiring has been declining.

To bring down the wage bills that ballooned following the excessive hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are looking to rationalise fresher intake this year. While Infosys has outright said it won’t engage in any more campus hiring this year, TCS has admitted to delayed onboarding though it has assured that all contracts will be honoured.

There has also been a delay in giving salary increments this fiscal — Infosys delayed it by nearly seven months, Wipro by a quarter while HCLTech senior employees will not get hikes this year.

In fact, Infosys has an official project called ‘Project Maximus’ that is aimed at margin maximisation, which will run for another year and a half. The five-step programme includes value based pricing, pyramid optimisation, higher efficiency through automation and GenAI, optimising challenged portfolios and optimising other costs.

Although Infosys has not outlined what its margin target, its current margin guidance is 20-22% compared to the earlier guidance of 22-24%.

HCLTech, meanwhile, has said that it is “laser-focused” on getting margins back in the 19-20% range, as its current guidance is in the 18-19% band.