Salary hikes low at handset companies

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

handset companies have reduced to 6-8% for fiscal 2023 from an average of 10-12% in the previous two years, staffing firms said, as the industry struggles with a slump in demand. The segment has also seen some attrition — voluntary and layoffs — in the first few months of calendar year 2023. Things, though, are expected to take a turn for the better with the smartphone market showing signs of recovery in the April-June quarter, experts said.

«There has been a slight decline in appraisals and increment sentiments in the smartphone market. Smartphone players offered appraisals in the range of 6-8%,» said Sanjay Shetty, director of professional search and selection at staffing company Randstad India. The segment witnessed an 18-20% decline in shipments in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, which might well have contributed to the bearish appraisal trends, he added.

The sector is also seeing direct and indirect attrition. While some companies are laying off administrative and marketing staff, several others are yet to fill vacancies left by outgoing employees in handset retail over the January-May period, staffing executives added. Some smartphone brands had put a section of underperforming employees under performance-improvement plans, many of whom eventually left the companies, industry experts said.

Apart from the slowdown in demand and sales, the smartphone segment is dominated by Chinese firms that have been under the scanner of late and engaged in legal battles with Indian authorities. As a result, some of them have scaled back on their above-the-line marketing (comprising big TV campaigns) expenses. This, staffing experts say, has had an impact on the hiring sentiment among handset companies.