Cognizant layoffs: No spike in employee exits, part of annual performance reviews, says co

Chennai: Information Technology major Cognizant Technology Solutions may not vastly differ this year from its regular annual layoff numbers post completion of employee appraisals, said company sources. Rumours abound about a spike in the employee see-off numbers this year contrary to the annual one to two percent, sources said on Saturday. The company may hive off 6,000 employees or 2.3 percent of its workforce, the Times of India said, adding that it could be more this year unlike the annual lay offs of the routine 1-2 percent, the report said. The company’s workforce number stood at around 260,000 as on December 2016 with the majority of them in India. “Post appraisals it is normal that the company asks some to leave based on their performance rating. It happens every year. This year it seems this aspect has got media attention and the percentage seems to be inflated,” a long-term employee of the company told IANS on the condition anonymity. [caption id=“attachment_849009” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “The managers have not been told to warn their team members about their impending exits,” he added. “As part of our workforce management strategy, we conduct regular performance reviews to ensure we have the right employee skillsets necessary to meet client needs and achieve our business goals,” a Cognizant spokesperson said. “This process results in changes, including some employees transitioning out of the company. Any actions as the result of this process are performance-based and generally consistent with those we’ve made in previous years,” the spokesperson added. According to him, in any given year, the layoff numbers may bounce a percentage here or there, but this is part of standard practice. “At the same time, we continue to enhance our capabilities and hire for roles across all our practice areas in the company,” he said. He said the layoff numbers would be clear only when the appraisal process gets completed by the end of this month.