Wipro Ltd has delayed the permanent onboarding of at least 400 trainees who joined the company in 2022 through its flagship Wipro Integrated Learning Program (WILP), with some now facing more than five years in the programme before becoming full-time staff, according to latest reports from Livemint. The delays have prompted several agitated graduates to email company management, including executive chairman Rishad Premji and chief executive Srini Pallia. As reported by Livemint, one trainee sent an email dated 24 August to at least 400 people, expressing concerns about the extended timeline and its impact on career progression and financial planning.
The extended timeline has created significant financial uncertainty for trainees, with one participant telling Mint that their family depends on their income and had planned important financial commitments based on previously communicated timelines. WILP trainees currently earn ₹15,000 per month in the first year, rising to ₹23,000 by the fourth year, while remaining on stipend without full-time employee benefits until conversion. According to Livemint, the programme was originally expected to begin academic courses within a year of joining, but actual enrolment took place beyond this 12-month period mentioned in the offer letter. Those who joined during the first three months of 2022 could spend more than five years in the programme before completing their academic requirements and moving into full-time roles.
On 1 September, Wipro addressed trainee concerns by advancing the conversion date by one month, moving it from 1 April to 1 March 2027, as reported by Livemint. However, there will be no gap between the final two semesters, with the dissertation beginning immediately after the seventh semester as a one-off exemption. Trainees with a CGPA above 5.5 and a grade above 'E' can complete the programme in approximately 3.5 years. A second executive familiar with the developments told Mint that the delay was primarily due to procedural delays in 2022, which deferred the start of the programme for some employees. The academic courses were originally expected to end in December 2025, but began only in June 2023 following these procedural delays.
The trainee delays reflect broader changes in IT hiring patterns, with slower IT growth, AI-led changes and more cautious fresher hiring reshaping workforce demand following the aggressive post-Covid hiring phase. This marks another instance of deferred fresher onboarding at Wipro, with more than 200 entry-level candidates awaiting onboarding through the company's Elite hiring programme last month, prompting the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) to write to the labour ministry. Wipro's management has indicated that fresher hiring will remain linked to business demand, with Chief Human Resources Officer Saurabh Govil stating during the company's July post-earnings call that the company would assess requirements before deciding on hiring numbers in the ongoing financial year.
Despite the ongoing trainee delays, Wipro ADR has shown recent stability, currently trading at $1.67 after spending weeks in a steady decline on the 5-hour chart. According to Investing.com, the stock is squeezing into the narrow band between $1.65 (stubborn support) and heavy resistance near $1.78. Technical indicators including SuperTrend and Ichimoku Cloud reinforce the downward regime, with volume declining and any sharp move potentially exaggerated by thin liquidity conditions. The stock faces breakdown risk with target levels at $1.58, $1.53, and $1.45 for both aggressive and conservative trading scenarios.
