HCL to freeze salary, cut bonuses
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 03 April 2009, 15:57 IST
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HCL to freeze salary, cut bonuses
Bangalore: Feeling the brunt of the downturn, HCL, India's one of the top IT companies, has decided to freeze the salary increments through 2009-10. The employees are informed that there won't be wage hikes for the financial year ending July 31, 2009. The measures are taken as part of the efforts to tighten the expenses across business divisions due to the lower demand in the U.S. and Europe markets, reported Business Standard. Moreover, the company has also slashed retainer bonus, which averages 10 percent of an employee's salary, from April 1. Employees' salary allowance has also been reduced sharply. "HCL is discouraging travel requests, except in exceptional cases related to on-site employees. The option for an employee to use his travel allowance has been minimized," said an HCL employee. According to an HCL spokesperson, the recent communication with employees was part of a routine process under which the leadership of the company reached out to employees across the organization to take stock of the current business environment, changing customer requirements and to together arrive at a comprehensive strategy. HCL is also looking to suspend matching contributions to employee retirement plans. On-site allowances have also been slashed, though the exact quantum in this case is not clear. Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL is believed to have informed the employees about the cost-cutting measures in a recent meeting. It is learnt that while the company has not gone for salary cuts at this point in time, a 25 percent salary cut for employees on the bench has been considered. "Salary cuts were considered, but were not carried out. Instead, employees are now being charged for frills like coffee and refreshments," said a source.

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