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What is the story about?
A video showing HCL Group employees chanting for a salary hike during the company's 50th anniversary celebrations in Chennai has gone viral online.
The clip captures an event attended by C Vijayakumar, HCL's CEO and managing director. It opens with a large image of Vijayakumar displayed on screen before cutting to him walking onto the stage. As he begins greeting the gathered employees, a section of the crowd is heard repeatedly chanting, "We want a hike."
The Chennai event was one in a series of concerts held by HCL across multiple cities to mark its 50th anniversary, and included a private concert for staff featuring musician Anirudh Ravichander. HCL has not issued a public response to the video.
The clip has triggered a wave of online reactions, largely in support of the employees. One user wrote, "Yea, now that's the only way to be heard by your employer whose leadership sits on a pile of money and gives the petty employees just a handful."
Another commenter shared a personal account: "I think the employees did the right thing. I worked at HCL for 6 years in Lucknow, and even after all those years, my in-hand salary never crossed ₹20,000. I still have friends who have been with HCL for 7 to 8 years and are earning below ₹20,000. Employees deserve fair pay."
A third user commented, "atleast they showed courage , In our HO people are just scared to say anything."
According to HCL's official website, Vijayakumar was part of the founding team of HCL Comnet and played a key role in building the company's Remote Infrastructure Management business, which went on to become a multi-billion-dollar global industry. He also serves on the boards of HCL America, HCL America Solutions Inc, HCL Latin America Holdings LLC, HCL Canada Inc, and Geometric Americas, Inc.
Also Read: US FTC sues Hims & Hers for sending user health info to Meta, Snap
The clip captures an event attended by C Vijayakumar, HCL's CEO and managing director. It opens with a large image of Vijayakumar displayed on screen before cutting to him walking onto the stage. As he begins greeting the gathered employees, a section of the crowd is heard repeatedly chanting, "We want a hike."
The Chennai event was one in a series of concerts held by HCL across multiple cities to mark its 50th anniversary, and included a private concert for staff featuring musician Anirudh Ravichander. HCL has not issued a public response to the video.
When
the CEO of HCL came on stage, employees started chanting, "We want a hike!" pic.twitter.com/hty1tNGp26
— Nandkishor (@devops_nk) July 27, 2026
The clip has triggered a wave of online reactions, largely in support of the employees. One user wrote, "Yea, now that's the only way to be heard by your employer whose leadership sits on a pile of money and gives the petty employees just a handful."
Another commenter shared a personal account: "I think the employees did the right thing. I worked at HCL for 6 years in Lucknow, and even after all those years, my in-hand salary never crossed ₹20,000. I still have friends who have been with HCL for 7 to 8 years and are earning below ₹20,000. Employees deserve fair pay."
A third user commented, "atleast they showed courage , In our HO people are just scared to say anything."
According to HCL's official website, Vijayakumar was part of the founding team of HCL Comnet and played a key role in building the company's Remote Infrastructure Management business, which went on to become a multi-billion-dollar global industry. He also serves on the boards of HCL America, HCL America Solutions Inc, HCL Latin America Holdings LLC, HCL Canada Inc, and Geometric Americas, Inc.
Also Read: US FTC sues Hims & Hers for sending user health info to Meta, Snap
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