Freshers look for other jobs, as IT companies delay joining

“I got an offer from Infosys and my friend got an offer from Wipro. We received the offers this March and are awaiting updates on onboarding. Many who received offers in January-February have not yet boarded; So we don’t know when it’s our turn, if ever,” said Anupriya K., who graduated from an engineering college in Andhra Pradesh.

Anupriya is looking for another job because she cannot afford to forego salary after graduation.

“My colleagues contact companies whose jobs they didn’t start and have opted for the IT companies,” adds the 23-year-old.

Technology service providers are one of India’s largest recruiters from college campuses and they experienced a gigantic hiring frenzy in FY22.

According to news reports, Infosys hired 85,000 in FY22, Wipro 17,000, TCS 100,000 and HCL 23,000 campus graduates or freshmen in the last fiscal year.

While the bids were made amid robust business prospects, tech companies now face an uncertain economic outlook amid fears of a recession in the US, their largest market.

Increased travel and subcontracting costs, pressure on margins and higher costs of working from the office are causing companies to be slower to hire. They’re also trying to improve cost-efficiency by reducing annual raises and variable payouts, and slowing the pace of new hires. Additionally, companies are re-skilling rather than hiring across the board as staff utilization in the industry is expected to ease over the next few quarters.

“The onboarding is dependent on the business entry of the customers. The group waiting for internships isn’t very keen on the technology companies,” said an internship officer at one of the National Institutes of Technology (NIT), who asked not to be named.

Typically, tech service companies recruit primarily from universities or hiring campaigns. The trips take place throughout the year, while the campus internships begin in December and last through April.

Salaries vary by profile. In many Tier II and Tier III colleges where the tech companies are mass recruiting, the starting salary offer is €3.6 lakhs. However, at the leading companies, compensation can be varied and only a handful are hired.

According to various news reports, Infosys is expected to hire 50,000 positions for technology companies on campus, Wipro 40,000, TCS 45,000 and HCL 45,000.

The tech firms said they are in touch with potential collaborators. Infosys emphasized that entry-level hiring is “a key factor” for the company’s future and that it has “hired a record number of new hires” in recent quarters. However, she claimed that recruitment is customer-centric.

“Hiring at Infosys is always aligned with customer needs throughout the year, and as a result we distribute enrollment dates from different batches to align with changes in project plans and to ensure employees have access to the right training,” das said company in an email reply.

Wipro said, “It will recognize any offer letters that have been submitted to deserving candidates.” On Saturday, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) asked the Department of Labor and Employment to investigate the delay in enrolling 2,000 college graduates at Wipro.

“The livelihoods of thousands of students and staff are now at risk. These students and staff applied for a position at Wipro in September 2021,” the NITES letter said.

HCL denied any onboarding delays. “There is no delay in freshman onboarding and it is progressing on schedule,” the company said.

Inquiries by e-mail to TCS remained unanswered.

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