Infosys Q4 Results: At 7.5%, full-year headcount drops for first time in 23 years; attrition down 12.6% QoQ

Infosys headcount for the financial year 2024 declined by 25,994, for the first time in at least 23 years since 2001. The total headcount for the entire fiscal stood at 317,240, which is a 7.5 per cent decrease from the year-ago period. On a quarterly basis too, Infosys added 5,423 fewer employees, which is a drop for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Attrition rates have steadily declined over the past year — from 20.90% in Q4FY23 to 12.6% in the results shared on Thursday. It stood at 17.30% in the first quarter of FY24 before dipping to 14.6% in Q2FY24. Attrition stood at 12.9% for the quarter ending on December 31 last year. 

Infosys projected tepid sales growth for the next 12 months, forecasting that revenue would grow between 1% and 3% on a constant-currency basis. Chief executive Salil Parekh said the macro environment had a "mixed outlook".

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Infosys reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday to clock a net profit of ₹7,975 crore. The Bangalore-based company saw its revenue for the quarter under review rise 1.3% YoY to ₹37,923 crore while the attrition rate dwindle further to 12.6% in the final quarter of FY24.

Metrics shared in a regulatory filing indicate that the company had 317,240 employees at the end of March — a 7.5% dip from 3,43,234 in FY23.

“When we started, we were at 77 per cent utilisation including the trainees. The growth environment was different at that time. Our utilisation has gone up to 82% to 83%. Our attrition has also come down significantly. That is the reason for net headcount reduction,” explained CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka.

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The company also indicated that it was yet to finalise its campus hiring plans. Sanghrajka said on Thursday that hiring models had changed sigificantly in recent quarters with Infosys undertaking more than half of its hiring off campus. 

“We are now in a more agile model of campus hiring. We do campus hiring more than more than half the time from off campuses...fresher hiring off campuses…we will embark on that. At this point we are at 82% utilisation…so we still have headroom on that. Plus attrition is very low. So we have not decided on the campus hiring numbers at this point,” he added during a press conference.

(With inputs from agencies)