Chennai, April 14 (Inditop) Hotel chain major ITC Welcomgroup will hire around 4,000 people in the next four years, taking the total number of employees to 14,000, a top official said.

“Our new star hotels are coming up in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and New Delhi that require additional hands,” Anil Sharma, vice-president (human resources) of ITC, told IANS from Delhi on phone.

The hotel chain is expected to inaugurate its 350-room Bangalore property in June this year and its 600-room Grand Chola here early next year.

Sharma added that the attrition rate was around 11 percent in ITC Welcomgroup, compared to the industry average of 20 percent.

In 2007-08, the hotel division contributed around Rs.1,000 crore to ITC’s topline and around Rs.410 crore to its profit.

He said the chain concluded wage agreements in five of its properties with an average pay hike of 22 percent.

“Wage revisions for employees in other properties will happen when the earlier agreements come to an end,” Sharma added.