Cognizant defers annual salary hikes to Aug 1, says ‘recognises hard work’

Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Technology Services has deferred salary hikes this year and all eligible employees will receive increments on August 1.

“We are committed to recognising the hard work and dedication of our associates through annual merit increases and bonuses. As part of this commitment, the merit increases for eligible associates will be awarded this year on August 1,” said Cognizant in a statement to ‘Business Standard’.

“Importantly, the majority of our associates have seen four merit increases within three years, with the last cycle being April 1, 2023. The company has also just rewarded annual bonuses to eligible associates globally. This continuity underscores our dedication to consistently acknowledge the contributions of our talented associates,” said the information technology company.

Cognizant employs some 250,000 people in India out of its total headcount of 347,700 as of December 31. Its voluntary attrition rate, on a trailing 12-month basis, reduced to 13.8 per cent in the December quarter, down from 16.2 per cent in the preceding three months and 26 per cent annually, indicating a downtrend visible across the industry.

In the December quarter, Cognizant saw a headcount increase of 1,100 from Q3 2023 but a decrease of 7,600 from Q4 2022. The company promoted 30,000 employees last year.

Cognizant has been reinventing itself under chief executive Ravi Kumar S. In the last earnings, Kumar said, “We have reoriented our teams to large deal demand generation and execution across all service lines. We have strengthened our ability to seed, shape and sell large deals. And we have made progress in industrializing delivery with automation and productivity tools to create repeatable solutions and enable a consistent and efficient delivery operating model for large deals.”

First Published: Apr 06 2024 | 1:52 PM IST