Average Q4 bonus payout drops to 70% from 85% in the previous quarter.
Bonus levels vary across employee bands and business units.
Move comes despite strong profit and revenue growth in the March quarter.
IT giant Infosys has lowered performance bonus payouts for the March quarter, just months after distributing its highest variable pay in more than three years.
An internal communication reviewed by Moneycontrol showed that the organisation-wide average payout for Q4 FY26 stood at around 70%, down from roughly 85% in the Q3 FY26, the company’s best variable pay since the Covid period.
1 May 2026
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Infosys had gradually increased variable payouts over recent quarters, moving from around 65% to 80%, before peaking at 85% in Q3. In some cases, mid- and junior-level employees had received up to 100% of their variable pay during that period.
Payouts Across Employee Levels
The company uses internal rating bands known as Personal Levels (PL) during appraisal cycles to determine performance-linked pay.
For the March quarter, employees in PL4 received payouts ranging between 67% and 82% depending on their business unit. Those in PL5 saw payouts between 65% and 78%, while PL6 employees received between 63% and 77%. The internal note stated that payout percentages also differed across delivery and business segments, even though the overall average stood at 70%.
Caution amid Global Tech Uncertainty
The moderation in bonus payouts comes at a time when global technology companies are navigating uncertainty linked to rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI).
Investor sentiment toward traditional IT services businesses has turned cautious as clients reassess spending priorities in the face of generative AI and automation-led efficiencies. This shift has led to volatility in global IT stocks and raised questions about the long-term demand outlook for legacy services work.
Despite the softer bonus payout, Infosys posted a 20.87% increase in consolidated net profit at ₹8,501 crore for the March quarter. Revenue from operations rose 13.38% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹46,402 crore compared to ₹40,925 crore in the same quarter last year. The moderation in bonuses comes even as the company recorded higher profit and revenue during the period.
