400 seniors ready to separate from CTS

In May, the company had initiated a voluntary separation programme, offering up to nine months of salary as part of it to some of its top-level executives in the US and India. Cognizant has a significant chunk of its total 2.56 lakh workforce in India and it is estimated that of the 400 people who opted for the separation, a large number could be from India. 

However, the company did not disclose the number of Indian executives who have accepted the offer. “Of the $39 million of realignment charges, $35 million was for the roughly 400 associates who accepted our VSP. We expect approximately $60 million of annualised savings as a result of the VSP,” Cognizant CFO Karen McLoughlin said at a recent investor call.

She added that Cognizant expects to incur additional cost related to advisory fees, severance, lease termination, and facility consolidation costs in the remaining part of 2017. McLoughlin said the company has also made “good headway” in the June quarter driving utilisation rates higher by “slowing the pace of our hiring and improving resource alignment” to its re-skilling and multi-skilling programmes. She explained these “adjustments” will help improve profitability. 

Cognizant’s overall headcount decreased by about 4,400 people at the end of June from March 2017 quarter, even though it had hired 10,800 people (gross) during the June quarter. “Our attrition level was higher than normal given reductions resulting from performance evaluations and the voluntary separation programme,” McLoughlin said. The company will continue to hire and invest in critical skills needed to grow Cognizant’s digital business.