Salary hikes at 7-8% for Airtel, VI; Jio a tad lower

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Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have handed out annual increments of a maximum of 8% to their employees, belying expectations of increments in the range of 10-12%, The Economic Times has reported. The other private sector player Reliance Jio, which is the market leader, is yet to announce increments. Incidentally, in the entire FY23 CPI inflation varied between a high of 7.79% (in April 2022) and a low of 5.66% (in March 2033).

“Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have given out increments in the 7-8% range this year. While bonuses at Airtel were up to 110%, Vodafone Idea also gave out 100% bonuses,” remarked an industry executive as quoted in the report.

The increment plays out against a backdrop of the companies becoming increasingly keen to acquire and retain talent in the super-competitive industry.

Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, a talent solutions company, told the newspaper, “The low rate of increments is mainly attributable to telecom players majorly taking the recovery route to their pre-pandemic levels.” He also pointed out the dampening effects of a dim global economic outlook and the apprehension of a recession.

A TeamLease executive said, “Telcos are offering incentives, including 100% bonus and inflation-indexed hikes, to motivate their workforce.”

The situation is a bit tricky for Vodafone Idea that is struggling to keep its head above water in a swirling cesspool of debt. It is trying to walk a tightrope between caution to retain talent and aggression to retain and grow market share in an increasingly tough climate. Over the past few quarters, Vodafone has been losing market share to its other two competitors.

However, for all the companies, hiring and retaining talent is one of their primary objectives in the market. The challenge is to grow the nascent 5G market while maximising the share of the existing 4G pie.

Some industry executives indicated that Jio might delay implementing salary hikes till October. They also apprehend that the hikes might be just about 6%. However, they hope that the company will reward those who meet their targets with 100% incentives.