Infosys offers 50 million shares to employees

Move aims to retain, attract top talent

Employees walk along a corridor in the Infosys campus in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 23, 2014. Infosys Ltd's new CEO Vishal Sikka has come up with a novel approach to reviving the financial fortunes of India's trailblazing outsourcing firm: use Facebook at work, tweet, but get the job done. Infosys has long been run as a conservative company known for keeping strict tabs on work hours and sometimes fining employees for not wearing ties on specific days. Such cheerless self-regard could not have come at a more challenging time, analysts say. To retain talent, Sikka hopes to create a more employee-friendly workplace. To match story INFOSYS-CEO/STRATEGY REUTERS/Abhishek Chinnappa (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYMENT)

Digital technology and consulting major Infosys on Wednesday introduced an expanded stock ownership programme, aimed at retaining and attracting top talent.

The company’s board of directors has approved the the Infosys Expanded Stock Ownership Program 2019 that links long-term employee incentives with shareholder value creation. It is also expected to broaden and deepen employee ownership of the company.

This programme proposes to allocate 50 million shares (or five crore shares) equating 1.15% of the company’s equity shares to a broad base of employees, which will vest on challenging performance criteria, said the company.

Salil Parekh, CEO & MD, Infosys, said, “Infosys has been a pioneer for many firsts in India, and this programme is a key milestone as it sets another benchmark in the industry.”

“Our employees are our biggest asset and through this programme, we aim to recognise and reward individuals who are committed to driving value creation for all the stakeholders through their continued and consistent performance. By making employees owners, they get an opportunity to be beneficiaries in the long-term success of the company and realise the results of their work and dedication.”

The Infosys Expanded Stock Ownership Program 2019, under which grants will vest based on performance, aims to align employee interest with shareholder value creation, incentivise, attract and retain key talent, and reward employee performance with ownership.

The grants allocated to employees over a period of seven years will vest based on challenging performance criteria of viz. relative total shareholder return (TSR) against an industry peer group, relative TSR against domestic and global indices and operating lead performance metrics such as total revenue and digital revenue growth, and operating margins.

The proposal is subject to shareholder approval.