A viral video showing HCLTech employees chanting “we want hike” at chief executive C Vijayakumar during the company’s 50th anniversary event in Chennai has put a spotlight on pay concerns within India’s IT and business sector.
The clip, widely shared on X and Instagram, shows a packed auditorium breaking into the chant as Vijayakumar took the stage.
The chanting continued for a stretch as the CEO remained on stage during the proceedings.
The event was part of HCLTech’s golden jubilee celebrations, marking fifty years since the company’s founding, a milestone for one of India’s largest IT services firms.
Reactions online have been mixed, with some viewers finding the moment humorous and others linking it to broader conversations about compensation trends across the technology and business services industry.
Some commenters praised the employees for openly raising workplace concerns, while others said the chant was inappropriate for the occasion.
The episode has continued to circulate and be discussed as part of a wider conversation on employee sentiment within large IT firms this year.
C Vijayakumar has served as HCLTech’s chief executive officer, a role in which he has represented the company at major public events, including the golden jubilee celebration where the video was filmed.
The chant broke out as part of HCLTech’s golden jubilee celebrations in Chennai, an event that also featured other planned elements to mark the company’s fifty years in business.
Social media users were divided in their reactions, with some praising the employees for candidly expressing workplace concerns in a public setting, while others felt the moment undercut the tone of a company milestone event.
The episode has been widely shared and discussed as part of a broader conversation around compensation trends and employee sentiment within India’s information technology sector this year.
HCLTech, one of India’s largest IT services companies, employs hundreds of thousands of people globally, making internal sentiment around pay and benefits a recurring talking point whenever such moments become public.
(Image: Itsbilluid (CC BY-SA 3.0))