Employees of software services major Infosys can now breathe a sigh of relief as the company finally announced wage hikes to its staff in India effective October 2012. However, for its onsite workforce, salary increment will be implemented from January 1, the company said.

The company on Friday dolled out an average 6% hike for employees in India and 2-3% outside the country. Early this year, Infosys took a drastic step to withhold wage hikes till it gained more clarity on its business, an announcement that was met with much criticism. Usually, Infosys effects appraisals in the very beginning of the fiscal.

?We have given a compensation increase despite a challenging environment. We are investing in our future growth,? said SD Shibulal, CEO and managing director, Infosys.

The company also announced 12,000 promotions effective January 1, 2013. Infosys typically follows promotions twice a year. In April this year, the IT major rolled out 20,000 promotions, which is expected to be completed by this December, said Nandita Gurjar, senior VP and group head (HR), Infosys, adding that the IT major plans to hire 6,000 people from engineering and management colleges this year.

The wage hike will negatively impact the operating margins, which are already under stress since the past two quarters. The company pointed out that it will take a hit of 200 bps in operating margin due to wage hike in the coming quarters.

Infosys said its attrition has decreased year-on-year to 15% from 15.6% last year, while it was 14.9% in the previous quarter. ?Our attrition is below our comfort level and we are working on it to take it up. We are also investing heavily into employee engagement, empowerment, and employee autonomy and training in terms of skill advancements, management and leadership capabilities,?? Shibulal said.