HCL Employees Chant 'We Want Walkout' As CEO Vijayakumar Addresses Event In Chennai - Viral Video

Videos of HCL Group’s 50th anniversary celebrations are doing the rounds on social media, not because of the grand celebrations, but for an unprecedented reason: Employees were heard chanting “We want a trip” in front of the company’s CEO during the event.

The company is organizing a series of concerts in several cities, with the Chennai edition featuring an exclusive live performance by singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander for employees.

What does a viral video show?

Now a viral video shows HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar walking on stage and waving to employees. Within moments, part of the crowd started chanting, “We want a trip.” However, the CEO continued to greet the staff without responding to the chanting.

“When the CEO of HCL came on stage, employees started chanting, ‘We want a trip!’,” user X wrote while sharing the video.

The clip quickly sparked debate on social media, with many users saying that employees used the high-profile event as a rare opportunity to express their expectations directly to company management.

Others reacted with humor, describing the incident as an “honest employee moment” that took place in front of the entire audience.

Who is C Vijayakumar?

C Vijayakumar, 58, was first appointed as CEO of HCL Technologies in October 2016. On 20 July 2021, he started his second term as CEO and was also appointed as CEO after the then Chief Strategy Officer Shiv Nadar stepped down. Last month, he was given a five-year extension as the company’s top executive.

In a stock exchange filing, HCLTech said it has approved the reappointment of Vijayakumar from September 1, 2025 to March 31, 2030, subject to shareholder approval.

The technical manager, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from PSG College of Technology in Tamil Nadu, joined the company as a senior engineer in 1994.

“As part of the founding team of HCL Comnet, he played a key role in creating the remote infrastructure management proposition that has since evolved into a multi-billion dollar global industry,” said a statement on HCL’s website.

He also serves as a director on the boards of HCL America, HCL America Solutions Inc., HCL Latin America Holdings LLC, HCL Canada Inc. and Geometric Americas, Inc.

HCLTech kicked off its golden jubilee celebrations this year to commemorate 50 years since its inception in 1976. The month-long program began in April with a star-studded concert by singer Arijit Singh in the Delhi-NCR region.

During the event, HCL Chairperson Roshni Nadar announced that the company will organize nine concerts for employees in different cities as part of the anniversary celebrations.