Cognizant Opens up on Massive Layoffs - Denies claim by Employees! Details

IT Major Cognizant, which has recently been in news for reportedly undertaking massive layoffs, refuted to the claims made by employee unions and said that it was part of ‘normal performance management’.

Earlier, the Karnataka IT/ITes Employees Union (KITU) said that it will pursue legal action against the company for allegedly laying off employees or forcing them to resign after being put on bench. KITU Secretary Sooraj Nidiyanga was quoted stating that the union initiated legal action against the Nasdaq-listed IT firm after receiving complaints from affected employees. The Union also alleged that Cognizant was undertaking massive layoffs and has benched 18.000 employees across India and especially in Bengaluru and Chennai where employees are being forced to resign. 

“Performance management is a normal process across all companies in the IT industry, including Cognizant. While Cognizant does not comment on rumour and speculation in the marketplace, we would like to clarify that recent third-party allegations regarding a specific number of job actions are not accurate, Cognizant continues to hire at all levels in India and globally. Likewise, the company continues to invest heavily in upskilling and reskilling its employees at scale in newer digital technologies," a Cognizant spokesperson said, in a response to ET NOW.

Cognizant offered voluntary separation package for its recent employees recently and also withdrew its 2020 guidance citing the uncertainty arising due to the pandemic.

"Against today’s COVID-19 backdrop, we feel that traditional industry bench policies do not adequately address the interest of the impacted employees. Consequently, any employee impacted by demand/supply imbalances may benefit from extended medical coverage and exit packages through the end of the third quarter," CEO Brian Humphries said.

“In October 2019, the company announced a massive round of job cuts that would impact up to 12,000 employees in the coming months. Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries & CFO Karen McLoughlin said this was part of the company's new strategy called "2020 Fit for Growth Plan.", which would run for two years and will look at ways to simplify work, reduce cost structure and fund investments in businesses that will enable growth,” Times Now reported.