Cognizant’s attrition rate rises to 15.9%, 10,700 employees quit

Meanwhile, the company's utilisation rate declined two percentage points to 82 per cent
Cognizant, Chennai. Image used for representative purposes only.
Cognizant, Chennai. Image used for representative purposes only.Pic: Wikimedia Commons
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Cognizant Technology Solutions, headquartered in the United States (US), reported a workforce decrease in the December quarter, with 10,700 fewer employees than in the same period last year and a 3,300 fall from the previous quarter. Despite this, the company is confident about growing its workforce by 2025. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal indicated optimism in employing more personnel this year to support growth.

At the end of the quarter, Cognizant had roughly 3,36,800 employees. On a trailing twelve-month basis, attrition increased to 15.9 per cent, reflecting a stronger demand environment and greater hiring capabilities. This increase is consistent with broader trends in the Indian Information Technology (IT) sector, reports Financial Express.

Meanwhile, the company's utilisation rate (the percentage of time or resources used compared to the total amount available) declined two percentage points to 82 per cent. Despite this, the management emphasised that utilisation improvements will continue throughout 2024.

Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cognizant, pointed out a noticeable pattern of former employees returning to the company. In 2024, 13,000 former employees rejoined Cognizant, with another 10,000 showing interest in rejoining. This demonstrates the company's capability to maintain and attract outstanding talent.

While Cognizant's workforce dropped, competitor Accenture maintained its hiring spree, adding 24,697 individuals in Quarter 1 (Q1) of Financial Year 2025 (FY25), bringing its total headcount to 799,000.

Contrast to this, India’s top five IT companies — TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra — collectively saw a decline of 2,587 employees in Q3 of FY25, primarily due to seasonal factors such as furloughs and a slowdown in hiring.

Meanwhile, despite cutting jobs, Cognizant surpassed revenue expectations and forecasted steady annual revenue growth of 3.5 per cent to 6 per cent in constant currency for 2025, reflecting optimism about its business prospects.

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