Cognizant Set to Increase Salaries in August: Alright, so here’s the deal—Cognizant is changing things up when it comes to giving out salary hikes and bonuses. Usually, everything happened in March, but now? Not anymore. Ever since Ravi Kumar took over as CEO, Cognizant set to increase salaries in August instead. Bonuses, though, are sticking to March. Sounds like a small change, but it’s actually the second time they’ve pushed back the salary hikes by at least five months. So, if you were expecting a raise earlier in the year—well, surprise! You gotta wait a bit longer.
Why The Change?
Apparently, there’s a strategy behind all this. According to a Mint report, Cognizant plans salary hike in August this time around instead of March, which was the old norm. This shift is probably an effort to keep employees from jumping ship. Attrition—or in simpler terms, people peacing out from their jobs—has been creeping up. Cognizant’s attrition rate in its tech services division hit 15.9% by the end of 2024. Just a year ago, it was 13.8%. Not a great trend. And guess what? That number is actually worse than what some of its big competitors are dealing with. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is at 13%, Infosys is sitting at 13.7%, and HCL Technologies is at 13.2%. Basically, Cognizant’s losing more employees than its rivals. Not ideal.
One big reason for this? Well, let’s talk about Ravi Kumar’s game plan. Since stepping in, he’s been on a mission to cut out redundancies. And by “redundancies,” we mean actual people. Yep, Cognizant announced plans to lay off 3,500 employees in 2023—just four months after Kumar took charge. Oh, and they’re also closing down 45% of their Indian office spaces. So, yeah, if you’re wondering why some employees might be reconsidering their place at the company, there’s your answer.
Who’s Giving Hikes On Time? Not Cognizant.
Let’s be real—no one likes waiting for a salary hike. And Cognizant to raise salaries in August instead of March just adds to the frustration. But while they’re making employees wait, some competitors are sticking to the schedule. TCS, for example, was the only major IT company that actually rolled out salary hikes on time last year. Their employees got increases of 4.5-7% during the April-June 2024 period. Meanwhile, Cognizant’s hikes last year? A pretty modest 1-5%.
Now, let’s talk about what’s going on in the bigger picture. The IT industry as a whole is in a weird spot right now. Everyone’s kind of holding their breath and playing it safe. Companies are being super cautious with hiring, raises, and spending. According to Peter Bendor-Samuel, the founder of Everest Group (a Dallas-based IT research firm), people initially thought the market had bottomed out and things would start picking up again.
But then the new U.S. administration came in, and suddenly, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Businesses are hesitating on projects, and now, there’s this lingering fear that the industry might be sliding back into that annoying “delay and cancel” phase that’s been dragging on for the past two years. In short, things are shaky, and companies like Cognizant are just trying to navigate it the best they can.
What Does This Mean for Employees?
If you’re working at Cognizant, here’s the takeaway: Salary hikes are happening, but not until August. Bonuses are still in March. And yeah, layoffs and office closures have been part of the recent changes. The company is obviously trying to keep things under control, especially with so many employees leaving. But whether delaying salary hikes is going to help with that? Well, that’s up for debate. One thing’s for sure, though—if you’re at TCS, you’re probably feeling pretty good about getting your raise on time.
So, will Cognizant’s new strategy actually help with attrition? Will employees stick around knowing that salary hikes are getting pushed back? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. But for now, at least everyone knows what to expect—more waiting for that raise, and probably more water cooler discussions about whether it’s worth sticking around.
