Cognizant likely to lay off 6,000 employees

BENGALURU: Cognizant appears set to cut at least 6,000 jobs, which represents 2.3% of its total workforce, as it struggles with growth in an IT environment that is fast shifting towards new digital services.The variable payout to employees for 2016, too, is expected to be adversely affected, according to sources familiar with the matter.The layoffs are likely to be more this year than the routine annual exercise that weeds out the bottom 1% of the workforce for non-performance as determined by the annual appraisal process that ends in March.Cognizant is said to be looking to cut roles that have become redundant due to the impact of automation on lower-end IT jobs.Last year, the layoffs were about 1-2% while two years ago, it was about 1%. Cognizant had 2,60,200 employees globally as on December 31, with 1,88,000, or 72%, based in India.It was not immediately clear how many jobs in the country or which roles would be made redundant.“As part of our workforce management strategy, we conduct regular performance reviews to ensure we have the right employee skill sets necessary to meet client needs and achieve our business goals. This process results in changes, including some employees transitioning out of the company,” a Cognizant spokesperson said in an emailed response to TOI.The company faced one of its most challenging times last year, with full-year growth down to single digits, 8.6%, after many years of strong double-digit industry leading growth. .