HCLTech Merges Quarterly Variable with Fixed Salary, Adds 3,500 Staff in Q2 FY26

HCLTech on Monday announced that it will merge the quarterly variable pay for junior-level employees with their fixed salary. The variable pay is distributed every quarter based on staff performance in their respective projects.

“This time, we have decided to move the quarterly variable pay and convert it into fixed pay, merging it with the fixed salary for all our employees,” said HCLTech’s Chief People Officer, Ram Sundararajan, at a post earnings press conference.

He added that the Noida-based company will begin rolling out annual increments from October 2025, following the same process as last year.

“We have gone ahead and made a decision to roll out the increments, effective from October. We'll follow the same process as we did last year in running the increment process,” Sundararajan said.

During the quarter ending September 30, 2025, HCLTech added 3,489 employees, raising its total headcount from 223,151 in June 2025 to 226,640 in September 2025. This included an increase of 3,442 technical staff and 47 sales and support employees. The company also onboarded 5,196 freshers during the quarter. Attrition dropped to 12.6%.

Sundararajan told reporters that about 18% of new hires were part of the "elite cadre" announced in Q1. In July, HCLTech had said it would focus on fresher hiring based on specialisation rather than volume.

“We are talking about an elite cadre of freshers who will be paid more. These elite candidates will receive higher compensation—for example, services freshers will be hired at up to 3X the usual pay, and software freshers at up to 4X,” Sundararajan noted.

Small Layoffs Across Regions

Meanwhile, the company’s management confirmed it has laid off a small number of employees across geographies as part of its "Restructuring Programme," announced in July. While Sundararajan did not provide exact numbers, he said the layoffs were due to "skill and location mismatch" and were limited in scope.

Impact of H-1B Visa Changes

HCLTech’s Managing Director C. Vijayakumar stated that the company has been making a conscious effort to reduce its reliance on visas. This follows the US administration’s hike of the H-1B skilled visa fee to $100,000.

“Recent H-1B visa revisions and their potential impact on us have prompted us to strategically strengthen our global delivery model and reduce our reliance on visas,” said Vijayakumar.

Demand Environment Remains 'Unchanged'

The company’s management noted that the business environment remained "unchanged" compared to the previous quarter, with variations across verticals, and did not deteriorate as initially feared.

Discretionary spending trends differ by sector, but spending in Financial Services and Technology remained resilient, while the auto sector faced some softness, Vijayakumar added.

HCLTech expects FY26 revenue growth of 3.0%–5.0% YoY in constant currency, with services revenue projected to rise 4.0%–5.0% CC. EBIT margin is guided at 17.0%–18.0% for the year.

The company reported new deal wins with a total contract value (TCV) of $2,569 million in Q2, up 41.8% sequentially and 15.8% YoY.

HCLTech also became the first Indian IT services firm to disclose standalone AI revenue, with its advanced AI business generating over $100 million in the September quarter.

“A standout quarter on every front, marked by strong execution, growing demand for our AI-powered solutions, and Advanced AI revenue exceeding $100M this quarter. Our revenue grew 2.4% sequentially in constant currency, with a strong recovery of operating margin to 17.5%,” said Vijayakumar.