With Q4 attrition at 16.6%, Infosys announces $10-mn bonus pool for staff

Infosys also said it would effect a salary hike for 85% of its employee base from April 1

As India’s second largest information technology (IT) services company Infosys is looking to go back to strong growth momentum under the new management, the company on Friday announced a $10 million (Rs 652 million) bonus payout for its employees. 

The Bengaluru-based company also said, they have given a 100 per cent variable payout to the employees, which is the highest in the past 10 quarters. This comes as the company has renewed focus on reskilling of employees, which has been spelt out as one of the pillars of its new four-pillar strategy unveiled on Friday. 

“The third pillar reflects the aspirations and goals that we set for our employees. I want all our employees to look at a reskilling agenda, both for what they want to do in the future, and also for what our clients are looking for from us and from our employees,” said Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys.

The other three pillars of Infosys’s four-pillar strategy are: scaling up the company’s agile digital business, energising its core businesses and localisation in foreign markets. 

Infosys also said it would effect a salary hike for 85 per cent of its employee base from April 1. It will be applicable for both onsite and offshore staff. For the balance 15 per cent employees, including middle and senior management-level staff, the compensation revision will be effective from July 1.

“For majority of the people in India, the wage hike will be in the range of mid-single digits,” said U B Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer. “Continuing with the past trend, we will differentiate people on wage hike based on their performance and contribution.”

The company is already on a localisation spree in the US, its largest market. Infosys has said that while it has added 2,500 US employees to its workforce in the past one year, it was planning to hire over 10,000 Americans over the next two years.

In the fourth quarter, Infosys added 2,416 employees on the next basis (after discounting attrition), taking the total headcount to 204,107. 

Infosys’ attrition rate increased marginally from 15.8 per cent in the third quarter to 16.6 per cent in the fourth quarter. However, the company said it was not a worry point as the exit rates of high performers have fallen to a greater extent. “This rise is normal in the bands that we typically see. It is seasonal for Q4 because there are people going for higher studies. So we are not worried on that account. However, reskilling people and providing an environment where they are motivated to work is critical for us,” said Rao.