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Cognizant

Cognizant to pay Rs 4 crore to settle CFO Jatin Dalal’s lawsuit with Wipro

Cognizant’s CFO Jatin Dalal settled a non-compete lawsuit with Wipro for $505,087, covering legal fees, per SEC filing. Wipro cited confidentiality and compensation breaches after Dalal left in November 2023 and joined Cognizant on December 1. The Cognizant Human Capital Committee approved the payment. A similar lawsuit with Mohammad Haque was settled. The settlement terms remain confidential.

IT firms chasing acquisitions to enhance their topline and skills

Indian information technology (IT) services are banking on acquisitions to fuel growth amid a dire need for investments in new capabilities, especially GenAI, as a slowdown in global demand keeps away opportunities for organic expansion.

Zomato’s Rs 300-crore Blinkit boost; Ola Electric gets IPO nod

Food delivery company Zomato will infuse Rs 300 crore into its quick commerce unit Blinkit. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Cognizant to acquire Belcan for $1.3 billion

The deal would expand Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant's footprint in the aerospace, defense, space and automotive sectors. Cincinnati-based Belcan, which has been owned by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners since 2015, employs 10,000 people across 60 locations globally. Some of its clients include Boeing, General Motors, Rolls-Royce, the U.S. space agency NASA and the U.S. Navy.

Cognizant to acquire US digital engineering firm Belcan for $1.3 billion

Cognizant Technologies to acquire Belcan for $1.3 billion, expanding into aerospace, defense, space, and automotive sectors.

Talent-hunting tech rivals circle around vexed LTIMindtree

LTIMindtree was born out of the merger between L&T Infotech and Mindtree in November 2022. Analysts have attributed this to integration pains. CEO Debashis Chatterjee has said it’s business as usual.

Wipro’s COO Amit Choudhary resigns; Sanjeev Jain appointed as successor

Sanjeev Jain joined Wipro in 2023 as the global head of business operations after his stint at Cognizant, GE, IBM and Kyndryl Holdings (IBM spin-off). He will report to new CEO and MD Srinivas Pallia.

Microsoft's AI Copilot to add new features next month

Irina Ghose, managing director, Microsoft India & South Asia said the company is set to release new features to its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant Copilot next month to improve user prompts which would consequently generate better responses by the chatbot.

Microsoft's AI Copilot to add new features next month

“We are announcing a few new features on Microsoft 365 Copilot,” said Irina Ghose, Managing Director, Microsoft India & South Asia. “One is called Auto-complete, where you might start with the prompt, but you're not very clear how to complete it. It just goes and completes it for you.”

IT companies are deploying new tricks to lure staff to office

IT firms are implementing measures to encourage office attendance post-pandemic, curtailing the flexibility granted during COVID-19. Employees face compliance pressure, risking consequences for non-adherence. Cognizant introduces a roster app, while TCS ties variable pay to office presence. Dell adopts a tracking system; Wipro emphasizes on-campus engagement, contrasting Infosys's hybrid approach.

Explained: Why Cognizant changed its logo on online media channels in India

Cognizant updated its logo on social media to 'Innovate', removed it from the India website, and faced a logo trademark dispute with Atyati Technologies. The firm also introduced the Bluebolt program, yielding significant cost savings and experiencing a reduction in global employee count.

Midcaps up M&A game with winds of tech spends revival

Indian IT sector witnesses a surge in acquisitions by firms of all sizes, driven by the need to pivot to new technologies and business models. Smaller players innovate and acquire to become key innovation partners in digital areas.

IT companies Cognizant, Capgemini hired 1.5 lakh less hands in 2023

Global hiring decline in 2023 impacted major IT companies like Cognizant and Capgemini. Indian IT firms also faced headcount reductions. Everest Group attributed layoffs to Covid over-hiring, while Gen AI influenced hiring decisions.

Cognizant Q1 revenue falls 1.1%, profit dips 6%

Cognizant’s performance reflects the overall IT sector’s sentiment with domestic majors such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro also reporting low single-digit revenue growth. All companies have the majority of their clients based in the US and Europe.

Cognizant first-quarter revenue beats estimates on steady spending by clients

Cognizant said total headcount at the end of the first-quarter was 344,400, a decrease of 3,300 from the fourth-quarter last year.

Cognizant utilising acquisition strategy to further AI investments: CEO

US-headquartered IT and professional services firm Cognizant had last year announced that it would invest $1 billion over the next three years to augment its generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) capabilities.

Cognizant purchases 25K Copilot Seats from Microsoft

Besides internal usage, Cognizant will work to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot to a million users within their global 2000 clients and across 11 industries.

Best companies in India to work for: TCS, Accenture, Cognizant in top 3

Bombay HC temporarily restrains Cognizant from using trademark logo identical to Atyati Tech

Before the court passed its order, Atyati Technologies argued that last year in October, the company was surprised to learn that the defendant (Cognizant Technology) was offering almost identical services relating to IT infrastructure, etc.

Here's how much money Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S got in 2023

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S's $22.5 million compensation for 2023 has sparked debate amid the company's 0.3% revenue decline to $19.4 billion. His package includes one-time awards like performance stock units and a cash sign-on bonus. The CEO pay ratio compared to employees in India is 1647:1. Previous CEO Brian Humphries received $4.2 million in 2023. CFO Jatin Dalal's target direct compensation was $5.2 million. The disparity in compensation, coupled with financial performance, has raised stakeholder concerns.

Tech firms TCS, Accenture, Cognizant lead LinkedIn's top large companies list

LinkedIn's 2024 Top Companies list in India features Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture, Cognizant, and others. Insights include in-demand skills like investor relations, capital markets, and job opportunities in diverse industries across locations like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Cognizant defers annual hikes to employees

IT major Cognizant said a majority of its associates have seen four merit increases within three years, with the last cycle being April 1, 2023.

Cognizant, Nvidia tap generative AI to boost drug discoveries

Cognizant said it aims to give clients access to a suite of model-making services, including pretrained models, cutting-edge frameworks, and APIs, that offers clients the quickest path to train and customize enterprise models using their proprietary data.

Ahead of second season, Major League Cricket signs Cognizant as title sponsor

MLC expands Cognizant's sports sponsorship portfolio, including the PGA, LPGA, Aston Martin Formula 1 team, SailGP, and English Football Association, aligning with the company's passion for sports, showcasing technology-sports parallels, and increasing diversity. Six teams from MLC's inaugural season will return in 2024, featuring returning superstar players like Rashid Khan, Faf du Plessis, Marco Jansen, Quinton de Kock, Haris Rauf, and Sunil Narine.

Cognizant asks staff to WFO thrice a week

Cognizant wants employees to use the in-person time to prioritise activities that benefit greatly from being together including doing collaborative projects, training and team building exercises. Over past few months, TCS, Infosys and Wipro have mandated staff to return to offices, with schedules of 5 days/week, 10 days/month and 3 days/week, respectively.

Cognizant asks India employees to work from office thrice a week

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said in a memo last week that all India associates are "expected to be in the office an average of three days per week, or as defined by their team leader," without shedding light on the move's effective date.

India better poised for growth, leveraging artificial intelligence

The Indian economy is poisoed for better prospects in the coming years as it leverages technologies like artificial intelligence and becomes a beacon for the world amid a tough geopolitical scenario, a panel consisting of Bill Winters, chief executive officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant, Jenny Johnson, president and CEO, Franklin Templeton and Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group said Friday.

Generative AI will bring down the entry barriers for specialised jobs

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S believes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) will reshape job dynamics, skills, tasks, and occupations, fostering upward social mobility. Unlike previous technological disruptions, generative AI's adoption curve will be steeper due to its natural language interface. While it may not replace jobs immediately, it will alter tasks within them. Kumar predicts a levelling effect, benefiting less productive workers and knowledge workers more than blue-collar workers.

GenAI could reshape the world, act as an equaliser: Ravi Kumar, Cognizant

As GenAI begins to move into the mainstream in 2024, I believe this technology has a chance to break this trend and become an equaliser for society.

Chryscapital-backed Xoriant hires LTIMindtree's Mukund Rao to lead global markets

Based in the US, Rao was the chief business officer of the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical at LTIMindtree (with Mindtree before the merger with L&T Infotech) for over four years. Prior to LTIMindtree, Rao worked for seven years at global rival Cognizant leaving as vice president & managing partner in November 2019.

Poaching Row: Nasscom chairperson says no impact on industry

Amid employee poaching allegations levelled by two domestic IT firms, Nasscom Chairperson Rajesh Nambiar said the issue has not impacted the industry's business and operations.

Sachin Bansal’s Navi in slow lane; New Year spike for health, wellness D2C brands

Sachin Bansal’s fintech venture Navi had big ambitions to digitally disrupt the financial services sector, but two of its flagship products have not been able to shore up much traction. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Cognizant gets its mojo back under new CEO’s watch

Experts say ‘people's person’ Ravi Kumar wins back competitiveness on large deals. He is also getting major talent back to Cognizant, and has rationalised the company with real estate as well as headcount consolidation.

Wipro's case against former CFO Jatin Dalal referred to arbitration

On January 3, Wipro and Dalal were directed to resolve the case under section 8 of the Arbitration Conciliation Act, 1996. The official order will be uploaded in the next week.

IT executive exodus: a primer on breach of contract, lawsuits

IT major Wipro has filed at least two legal complaints against its former senior executives including former senior vice president Mohd Haque and ex CFO Jatin Dalal for breach of his employment contract with Wipro. What does this mean?

Cognizant gets HC relief in I-T Dept's Rs 9,400 cr tax demand case

The Madras High Court has stayed the Income Tax Department's demand of ₹9,403.09 crore from Cognizant Technologies for its share buyback of over ₹19,000 crore in 2017-18. The court has directed Cognizant to pay ₹1,500 crore within four weeks as security against the tax demand. If the company fails to comply, the stay order will be vacated automatically.

Explainer: A primer on breach of contract, lawsuits

Wipro and Infosys are pursuing legal action against former executives joining Cognizant, raising questions on non-compete clauses' validity in India. While Wipro sued ex-SVP Mohd Haque and CFO Jatin Dalal, Infosys accused Cognizant of unethical hiring. Experts note the challenges enforcing non-compete clauses due to constitutional rights. Past cases lack significant precedents. The desperation to retain talent amid a sluggish market and geopolitical uncertainties might be driving these legal battles among IT giants.

Wipro seeks Rs 25 crore damages from ex-CFO Jatin Dalal for breach of non-compete rule

As part of the non-compete agreement, one of the clauses bars Dalal from joining any other rival company for a period of 12 months from the date of his resignation.

2023 Year in review: how layoffs hit technology and startup workers

With the year drawing to a close, ETtech looks at startups and tech companies— global and domestic—which laid off employees to cut costs amid economic uncertainties.

Cognizant gets HC relief in Rs 9,403 crore dividend distribution tax case

The bench said that in the event of default on the part of the company in complying with the conditions, the order shall stand vacated automatically, without any further reference to the court.

Wipro files complaint against ex-US staffer who joined Cognizant

In its complaint, Wipro said Mohd Haque, who quit Wipro in June this year, had agreed to certain restrictions on his post-employment activities, including prohibition of work for a small set of Wipro competitors including Cognizant, for 12 months after his employment ended.

Cognizant unveils Shakti to boost women leadership in technology

The IT services company has partnered with industry body Nasscom to establish and prioritise best practices with a shared goal of making diversity and inclusion (D&I) a key differentiator of India's tech sector.

Cognizant to buy advisory firm Thirdera to focus on workflow solutions

New Jersey-based Cognizant plans to absorb 940 people from Thirdera into its ServiceNow business group, its channel partner which has a team of 1,500 people.

Cognizant plans to sell office assets in Hyderabad, Chennai

"Cognizant is re-evaluating its entire real estate portfolio and has given up rented properties in some geographies. In some cases, the company has renegotiated the rent and downsized the assets too," said multiple people aware of the deal.

IT firms continue to take leaders on board to steer boat amid headwinds

In the 12 months through September 2023, there have been as many as 5,700 senior executive movements (chief executives and 2 levels below) in the software exports and enterprise technology space, compared with 5,500 the same period a year earlier, as per data gathered by ET.

Apple asked to cooperate in iPhone probe; Mamaearth IPO fully booked

Apple has been asked to join a probe led by India's official cyber security agency over allegations of hacking of opposition parliamentarians’ phones. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.

Infosys loses another veteran to rival company

Ranjan, who was the executive vice president (EVP) and service offering head for manufacturing in India and Japan business units, left Infosys to join US-based engineering firm Ness Digital Engineering as its chief operating officer (COO).

Cognizant moves Madras High Court against ITAT ruling on dividend tax

Cognizant, the IT major, has challenged a ruling by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Madras that held the company liable for dividend distribution tax (DDT) on a ₹19,000 crore share buyback through a scheme of arrangement.

ET Explainer: The platform opportunity for India’s IT/BPS services

The platform economy is expected to generate $35-45 billion revenue for the IT and business services sectors in FY2024.

Frequent job switches light up CFO salaries

Chief financial officers (CFOs) are changing jobs more frequently as companies seek experienced CFOs to ensure financial stability, meet accounting and regulatory norms, rationalize costs, and raise funds in a volatile business environment. This high turnover has also led to an increase in CFO compensation, with some CFOs earning salaries closer to those of CEOs.

Bribery case trial of ex-Cognizant employees delayed as witness unable to travel

The trial involving two former Cognizant executives in a bribery case has got delayed as a key witness Srimanikandan Ramamoorthy's passport has been held by the Enforcement Directorate in India which is investigating the same case.

ETtech In-depth | Conglomerates get a taste of tech

The in-house technology arms of Indian companies such as TVS, Shriram Group, Motherson, ITC, Godrej and even Patanjali Group are extending their services to external firms including some MNCs.

Engineering students brace for a tough placement season amid tech downturn

The Class of 2024 at tier-2 and -3 engineering colleges in India are facing a challenging year for campus hiring. IT/ITeS companies, which typically recruit a significant number of students, have either stayed away or delayed their hiring plans. Placement officials at various colleges have reported a drop in offers from these companies, with expectations of further declines.

Chennai ITAT rules Cognizant's Rs 19,000 crore buyback will attract dividend distribution tax

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Chennai has ruled that IT firm Cognizant Technology Solutions India implemented a Rs 19,000-crore buyback program with a view to "evade legitimate tax," and that the company was liable to pay dividend distribution tax (DDT) on the buyback scheme approved by the jurisdictional High Court.

Nasscom appoints Cognizant veteran Rajesh Nambiar as chairperson

IT industry body Nasscom announced on Monday that it has appointed Rajesh Nambiar, chairman and managing director, Cognizant India as its chairperson. Nambiar takes on the new role from his previous role as vice chairperson succeeding Anant Maheshwari, former president, Microsoft India.

Cognizant splits growth markets role, promotes two internal candidates

The GGM role is now split between current global head of large deals and 18-year-company veteran Manoj Mehta, and CEO of Asia Pacific Jane Livesey.

Names of top L&T, former Cognizant executives come to fore in corruption case investigation

The case involves bribes allegedly paid to officials of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), state housing, urban development department, as well as the then minister, during the construction of the IT company's 'KITS Campus' facility, ToI reported on August 11.

Cognizant retaining market share post the change of guard

While Infosys clocked $18.2 billion for the fiscal year-ended 2023, Cognizant reported a revenue of $19.4 billion for calendar year 2022. According to ET’s calculations, the New Jersey-based firm’s revenue for the comparable FY23 period too came in at $19.4 billion.

Cognizant clocks over 100 generative AI engagements: CEO Ravi Kumar S to staff

The New Jersey-based firm said it has already produced more than 3,000 ideas in the generative AI domain and has "hundreds" of projects using AI services within the context of IT services delivery.

Cognizant Q2 net profit down 19% YoY; company retains 2023 revenue guidance

Cognizant's revenue declined 0.4% year-on-year to $4.89 billion for the three-month period ended June. It was marginally above street estimates of $4.81 billion.

Cognizant projects revenue above estimates, CFO to retire in 2024

The New Jersey-based company expects current-quarter revenue of between $4.89 billion and $4.94 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $4.86 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

India Inc wants more women in leadership roles

Companies including Accenture, Cognizant, KPMG, L&T, PwC, and NatWest Group are making concerted efforts to bring in more women in leadership roles, recognising that diverse viewpoints are crucial to fostering innovation and better decision-making, ultimately leading to more success and better profitability for firms.

Cognizant appoints six women senior vice presidents in diversity push

Cognizant Technology Services has appointed six women leaders--both through internal promotions and new hires--to senior vice president (SVP) roles.

Cognizant, ServiceNow sign strategic pact to create $1 billion biz

IT company Cognizant and ServiceNow have signed a strategic partnership to push the adoption of AI-driven automation across industries to create a USD 1 billion combined business, a joint statement said on Wednesday. Cognizant is the lead launch partner of ServiceNow for end-to-end observability solutions for cloud applications across industries.

Cognizant expands ties with investment firm Orkla

Cognizant is a long-standing advisor to Orkla, and the two companies have partnered on several digital transformation projects since 2013.

Cognizant's $570 million trade-secret case win against Syntel thrown out on appeal

The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said Cognizant was not entitled to the damages under the federal trade secret law and ordered a Manhattan federal court to reconsider based on other grounds.

India Inc supports employees with special needs children

They are offering support in the form of medical coverage, resource groups, caregiving leave, access to learning materials, and employee assistance programmes, to not just ensure these children are given a chance to thrive but also help improve mental health and productivity of employees.

Cognizant, Google Cloud tie up to bring AI to enterprise clients; to train 25,000 employees

Cognizant will invest in expanding its product offerings, providing robust training resources for tech talent development on Google Cloud, and launching innovation hubs in key technology centers worldwide.

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar on earnings, company’s vision & ChatGPT; Visa launches CVV-free online transactions

Ravi Kumar S, who took over as the chief of US-headquartered IT firm Cognizant four months ago, has termed the last quarter “historic” amid a cautious macro environment.

Cognizant Q1 net profit up 3%, to lay off 3,500; Ready to tie up with NPCI: Visa’s Alfred Kelly

Cognizant’s net profit increased 3% in the first quarter to $580 million on lower administration costs and a bump in other income. It will let go of 3,500 people over the next two years.

Cognizant accelerating investment in generative AI: CEO Ravi Kumar

Cognizant on Thursday said it is operating pilots that use generative AI to accelerate consulting, design, engineering and operations with the long-term goal of doubling the productivity of our associates.

Cognizant to lay off around 3,500 employees as part of rejig programme

Layoffs at Cognizant follow that of Accenture, which in April announced that 19,000 employees would be let go globally.

Cognizant Q1 net profit up 3% YoY; to lay off 3,500 employees over two years

Cognizant also announced a two-year rejig aimed at simplifying the operating model and rationalising office spaces to the tune of $400 million. The company is set to lay off around 3,500 employees or 1% of its total workforce.

Cognizant wins five-year Nike transformation deal

Cognizant is expected to deliver several key capabilities for Nike over the next five years, including new self-service capabilities, improved service productivity, and significant cost savings.

Former Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries was involuntarily terminated: Filing

The statement said that its relative total shareholder return (TSR) performance had not met expectations leading to the decision to change leadership.

Cognizant rolls second hike as a part of 'two-merit cycles' announced last year

Combined with the merit increases eligible directors and above received in January, Cognizant is awarding more than 300,000 associates a merit increase this year, according to an internal mail.

Cognizant wins £74 million deal from UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cognizant will implement, under the Application Development and Maintenance Support services program, a new online services and digital platform capability, which can be reused across the core Defra group, including its partner organizations such as the Environment Agency, the Animal Plant Health Agency, and the Rural Payments Agency, according to a press release.

Wary IT companies may halve hiring of engineers from April: Experts

Staffing firm TeamLease expects a 40% drop in FY24 headcount addition vis a vis FY23 addition, based on the current outlook from companies.

YouTube’s Neal Mohan is the newest Indian-origin CEO in the tech world

From Google and Microsoft to Cognizant and Adobe, a growing number of technology-focused firms are today led by Indian-origin chief executives. Neal Mohan, who was named the next CEO of streaming service YouTube, is the newest name added to the growing list of Indian-origin CEOs of global corporations.

Check out the list of top M&A IT deals over 30 months

YouTube Music contract employees go on strike over unfair labour practices

YouTube Music's content operations team is expected to return to the Austin office early next week. However, Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) said the majority of workers were hired remotely.

Cognizant to focus on large deals, employee retention to trigger growth: India MD

The New Jersey-headquartered firm will be more employee centric, strengthen on winning larger deals and better operational metrics in order to “accelerate growth”, according to Rajesh Nambiar, MD and Chairman of Cognizant India.

Cognizant Q4 net profit down 9.6% YoY, beats annual guidance for FY22

The company's revenue, however, saw an uptick, rising 1.3% on year to $4.84 billion for the three-month period. It was slightly above street estimates of $4.83 billion. Revenue was flat while the profit declined 20.7% on a sequential basis.

Cognizant announces new services agreement worth $1 bn with CoreLogic

The deal deepens the scope of the current collaboration with a focus on delivering strong solutions and customer experience through digital transformation and operational excellence, Cognizant said in a statement.

Cognizant looks to get its mojo back under new CEO Ravi Kumar S

Cognizant’s new chief executive officer, Ravi Kumar S, will look to build confidence and ease out disparate strains in the company’s leadership team, according to analysts

Cognizant appoints Ravi Kumar as CEO, replaces Brian Humphries

Infosys veteran Ravi Kumar succeeds Brian Humphries as CEO of Cognizant

Cognizant, Garuda Aerospace to make advanced drones

Cognizant and Garuda Aerospace will collectively bring a slew of drone-based management and monitoring offerings for businesses across sectors.

Cognizant Q3 net profit up 16%; revenue growth disappoints

US-based software exporter trims annual guidance to $19.3 billion, its third consecutive correction

Cognizant acquires two verticals of Workday partner OneSource

Cognizant will add 400 employees of OneSource through the deal, bolstering its strength of certified professionals who can do Workday implementation and support.

Infy veteran Ravi Kumar to play key role in top-deck succession at Cognizant: analysts

Ravi Kumar, who is expected to join in January, will manage over 70% of the company's business and build efficiencies across major verticals in a tightly contested market, even as macroeconomic headwinds and a tight labour scene threaten margins.

Cognizant joins peers to roll out 7-10% salary hikes to employees

Cognizant told its employees that “formal eLetters” with the new compensation would be out through the week, with the increases taking effect from October for levels up to associate director.

Cognizant picks Infosys veteran Ravi Kumar to lead Americas market

Co appoints former Accenture leader Prasad Sankaran to head Software and Platform Engineering service line

Cognizant will focus on digital, stay away from “uneconomic” deals

Walker’s remark during an exclusive interview comes amid reports that suggest that the Teaneck, New Jersey-based company may be slipping on the large-deals front. "There's a narrative, and there are some facts," he said.

DataSwitch appoints Sivakumar Agneeswaran as group CEO and chairman

Before joining DataSwitch, Sivakumar was the vice president (VP) and Global Delivery Leader for the Data & Intelligence Practice in Cognizant for the Global Growth Markets (Europe & APAC) and the Life Sciences vertical (Global).

IT firms bank on campus hiring to reduce high staff costs

Upbeat hiring plans, more so among some mid-sized players, come at a time when the sector is beset with high staff costs. Infosys and Wipro either reduced or held back variable pay for certain sections of employees, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the biggest locally by market capitalization, altered its pay hike structure.