Cognizant bows to investor pressure on costs: 10,000 likely to lose jobs
Analysts say the move is both soothing and disconcerting The annual appraisal at Cognizant Technology Solutions this month came as a surprise to many. Not only was their performance under greater scrutiny, but at the end of the review process, as many as 10,000 employees are expected to be laid off. Many of them will lose their job to automation. Like others in the industry, Cognizant, too, has been trying to reinvent itself and focus on high-end projects that require specialised skills as traditional offshore contracts shrink. The Nasdaq-listed solutions provider has 262,200 employees, and, according to sources in the company, up to 2.5 per cent could lose their job, although employees think the number could be higher. Cognizant has been under pressure from investors to shore up margins. Investors want to see the company boost profitability, deliver growth and return cash to shareholders. Last month, Cognizant reached an agreement...