Cognizant Technology Announces Salary Hikes To 300,000 Employees

Global IT services major Cognizant Technology Solutions has announced a merit increase – the third in the last 18 months – impacting around 300,000 global employees, according to an internal email sent on Tuesday. The announcement comes even as global demand for technology workforce continues to weaken.

“This week, the vast majority of you who are in levels up to Associate Director will receive your 2023 merit pay eLetters. Keep in mind that we advanced this merit increase to be six months earlier in the year, following year-end performance reviews. This means many of you are seeing your third merit increase in 18 months,” says an internal email sent to Cognizant employees.

Eligible executives at the levels of directors and above have already received merit increases in January.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve invested significantly more in compensation than we have in recent history because of how valuable you, our associates, are to Cognizant’s success,” says the email sent by Ravi Kumar S, the chief executive officer of Cognizant.

It further adds: “The Board, executive leadership team, and I are committed to helping Cognizant be the employer of choice in our industry. We will put everything we have into making this happen. Doing so begins with providing continuous training, upskilling, and professional development and ensuring that we have a warm and welcoming, diverse and inclusive organization that is the best place to build a rewarding career. Thank you for your many contributions to Cognizant’s success.”

According to sources, Cognizant has expanded its learning and development programs to upskill talent in future-ready digital capabilities and hone the leadership pipeline. The company has trained over 150,000 associates in digital skills such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, analytics and automation over the last 18 months.

The Nasdaq-listed firm has added a new range of 8000 learning resources, and 550 learning paths. This is in addition to 30 hands-on virtual labs to its robust catalogue in addition to deepening partnerships with the world’s leading educational and technology partners, including, Harvard University, Indian School of Business, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft, among others.

Through this expansion, Cognizant plans to prepare associates across levels to lead through continuous learning opportunities — from expertise in advanced digital technologies such as AI, ML, IoT, Cloud, Analytics, and automation to industry-leading certifications and leadership training.

Cognizant Technology Solutions had introduced a one-time, ‘two merit cycles’ in the calendar year 2022 (CY22) for its employees to arrest attrition. These included salary hikes, bonuses, and promotions.