New Wage Rules Hit IT, Banks Hard: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Report Billions in Extra Costs

• New labor codes, effective December quarter, are increasing costs for companies due to revised wage definitions.
• IT and financial services sectors are particularly affected due to their large employee bases.
• HDFC Bank reported an additional charge of ₹1,037 crore (10% of employee costs) for Q3 FY25, with overall employee expenses up 21%.
• ICICI Bank provisioned ₹215 crore (3.4% of employee costs), with its wage bill rising 10%.
• Top five IT firms (TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra) collectively faced ₹5,000 crore in additional expenses.

Why It Matters: New labor codes significantly increase employee costs for IT and banking sectors, impacting profitability.