After over a year, Wipro to resume employee salary hikes from March 1

Wipro will begin rolling out salary hikes for employees from March 1, 2026, ending a deferral that has stretched for more than a year since its last increment cycle in September 2024.

The decision, first reported by The Financial Express, was communicated internally to staff, though the company has not disclosed the percentage increase. Wipro did not respond to media queries at the time of publication, the report added.

The move marks an important shift for India’s fourth-largest IT services exporter, which had held back base pay revisions as the sector navigated subdued global demand, geopolitical uncertainty and tighter technology budgets among clients.

During the company’s third-quarter earnings call in January, Wipro’s Chief Human Resources Officer Saurabh Govil said management was still weighing the timing of wage increases and would take a call after the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He indicated then that the company was close to a decision.

The restart comes as peers have adopted varied approaches to compensation. Tata Consultancy Services implemented hikes ranging from 2% to 8% for a large share of its workforce from September after delaying its cycle from April. Infosys rolled out increments in phases, with most employees receiving increases of 5% to 8%, while Cognizant also deferred hikes before resuming them later in the year.

Wipro’s decision also follows a mixed financial performance. The company posted a 5.5% year-on-year rise in revenue to Rs 23,555.8 crore in the December quarter, while net profit fell 7% to Rs 3,145 crore. Management issued cautious guidance for the subsequent quarter, reflecting continued uncertainty in the operating environment.

While base salary hikes were delayed, Wipro continued paying variable compensation. The company announced a 100% payout of quarterly variable pay for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, to be disbursed with February salaries, following payouts of over 90% in the first two quarters.

The broader question for Wipro — and the sector — is whether wage growth will normalise as demand stabilises. Govil has previously noted that fresher compensation remains constrained by demand-supply dynamics, highlighting the industry’s reluctance to raise entry-level pay until market conditions improve.

For now, Wipro’s March rollout signals a cautious return to increments, even as India’s IT services firms continue to balance talent retention with a still-fragile spending outlook.