Wipro doles out an average 5% salary hike for its employees

IT major Wipro has doled out an average 5 percent salary hike to its employees in India, according to a report in The Times of India.

The hike is below the salary increase of 9.5 per cent the firm gave last year to its employees. The employees based on-site (near the customers) have received a better hike than last year, an indication probably the Indian IT service firms are giving more importance to employment in customer locations.

Also read: Vishal Sikka's salary drops 67% in FY17, total payout down 7%

On-site employees received an average 2% salary hike last year. The IT sector has slowed down due to falls in demand from overseas market and new rules for US H1 B visas which give preference to local workers against outside ones.

Multiple software companies are laying off staff due to slow growth in the industry. IT sector behemoth Infosys has deferred salary hikes to July for its employees and even later in case of senior executives.

Every year it rolls out increments from April but this year the hikes have been pushed back to next quarter.

Also read: Amid job crisis in IT sector, Infosys top employees receive handsome pay hike

In an e-mail to employees, Infosys CEO UB Pravin Rao had said the compensation review for employees ranked JL5 (job level 5) and below would be effective from July.

For other employees, the same would be rolled out in subsequent quarters. Infosys is not the only company that deferred salary hike. Tech Mahindra is yet to revise wages for employees with more than six years of experience.

Indian IT firms are facing intense pressure given an uncertain environment and stricter work permit regimes in countries like the US, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Indian IT firms -- which get a bulk of their revenues from the North American market -- are now hiring more locals there as the US administration seeks to make work visa norms more stricter.