- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will announce its salary hikes for FY25 in March, with payouts starting in April.
- Employees can expect a salary increase between 4% to 8%, depending on business performance and job roles.
- The hike is linked to office attendance, as TCS emphasizes a return-to-office policy for better productivity.
Will Employees Get the Pay Raise They Expect?
India’s largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has decided to roll out salary hikes for its employees in FY25. However, this time, the salary increments come with a condition—returning to office regularly. The pay raise will be between 4% and 8%, depending on various factors such as employee grade, business unit performance, and compliance with the return-to-office (RTO) policy. The salary hikes are expected to be distributed in April 2025, following the company’s financial year-end in March.
This move is part of a larger industry trend where IT companies are pushing employees to return to office spaces to boost collaboration and efficiency. Employees who comply with the company’s RTO policy introduced in early 2024 are expected to benefit more from these hikes. Those who continue to work remotely may see lower salary increments or reduced variable pay.
The Changing Trend of IT Salary Hikes
TCS’s decision to offer single-digit salary hikes continues a downward trend in pay raises across the IT sector. In FY24, salary hikes ranged between 7% and 9%, whereas, during the pandemic boom in FY22, hikes went as high as 10.5%. This gradual decrease in annual salary growth reflects the post-pandemic stabilization of the IT industry, which had previously seen massive expansion and hiring during the work-from-home era.
Additionally, TCS’s February 2025 variable pay cycle saw senior employees receiving only 20% to 40% of their potential payouts, while junior and mid-level employees received their full variable pay. This shows that business performance is slowly recovering, but companies remain cautious in salary expenditures.
How Does TCS Compare to Other IT Firms?
TCS’s competitor, Infosys, has also announced that salary increments will be finalized by March, with expected hikes ranging from 5% to 8%, based on business unit performance. This suggests that IT employees across companies will have to adjust their salary expectations in a post-pandemic, cost-conscious corporate environment.
Some long-term employees at TCS have expressed dissatisfaction, citing that salary hikes have been shrinking over the last few years. Many attribute this trend to leadership changes since the tenure of former CEO N Chandrasekaran, who led the company through a high-growth phase from 2009 to 2017. Since then, the salary increments have consistently declined under successive CEOs.
What’s Next for IT Employees?
The IT industry is facing multiple challenges, including economic fluctuations, shifting work models, and cost-cutting measures. TCS’s decision to link salary hikes with office attendance could set a precedent for other IT firms. With single-digit increments becoming the new normal, employees may need to balance their career growth expectations with the evolving workplace demands of the IT sector.
Leave a Reply