Wipro chairman Rishad Premji on Monday said the company has not laid off any employee as a fallout of the Covid-19 situation and has no plans to do so for now.

Premji said this in response to a question by a shareholder at the 74th annual general meeting (AGM) of the company, held virtually.

“We are trying to drive cost reduction through various other means, through operationally and otherwise, but we have laid off no people and have no plans to lay off anybody at the moment,” he said.

This was his first annual general meeting (AGM) as the chairman of Wipro, after taking charge in July last year.

Premji said without question, employee safety and well-being has been and will remain of paramount importance. “In March, at the early onset of Covid-19, we triggered our business continuity plans and enabled work from home for about 93 per cent of our employees . It was heartening and inspiring to observe the seamless team- work which enabled the smooth execution of this massive change,” he said.

CEO view

Wipro’s new CEO Thierry Delaporte said profitable growth will be the most important priority on his agenda.

“We will do everything to regain the momentum in the marketplace. Building on our strong foundation, we will make bold bets and stretch goals. We will aim to drive a high-performance culture even as we steadfastly hold to our cherished values,” he said.

A Capgemini group veteran Delaporte took over as Wipro’s CEO and MD from July 6.