Hikes at Vodafone Idea a sign of green shoots

MUMBAI: In the first signs of a turnaround at loss-making Vodafone Idea, India’s largest telco by subscribers has given its 10,000-odd employees an average raise of 9% and a bonus payout of 97% across levels.

It has brought cheer to staff that has been facing immense uncertainty and got no hikes since June 2017.

The telco’s average increment is slightly better than that at rival Bharti Airtel, whose 16,000 employees got an average raise of 7.5% in June. But Airtel’s variable payout was 100%, and unlike the erstwhile Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, both of which had not raised salaries last year, it had given a 7.5% average increment in 2018 too. Financial pressures forced Vodafone and Idea to merge in August 2018.