Appeal against Cognizant on 'mass firing' closed, employees' forum unhappy

The labour department in Chennai has reportedly closed an appeal against Cognizant Technology Solutions over alleged mass termination, triggering an angry response from a forum for employees that termed the move biased.

Authorities in Chennai advised a meeting between Cognizant, which denies the allegations, and the disgruntled employees for an amicable solution to the dispute.

The Forum for IT Employees (FITE) approached the labour department last year, and demanded their profiles on Cognizant’s portal be activated so that they can be assigned projects. They also demanded fair performance appraisals and salary increments and promotions that were due.

At a reconciliation meeting on Tuesday with the labour department, Cognizant reportedly said it had activated the profiles and asked the authorities concerned to close the issue. But FITE argued that no positive action had been taken by the company. Cognizant officials were not immediately available for a comment.

IT woes: Indian engineers to lose 2 lakh jobs annually, says Head Hunters

Executive search firm Head Hunters India said the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies.

"Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth told PTI, analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum on February 17.

McKinsey & Company report had said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be "irrelevant" over the next 3-4 years.

McKinsey India Managing Director Noshir Kaka had also said the bigger challenge ahead for the industry will be to retrain 50-60 per cent of the workforce as there will be a significant shift in technologies. The industry employs 3.9 million people and the majority of them have to be retrained.

ALSO READ: Carnage in Indian IT: Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant slash jobs

"So, when we analyse these figures, it is clear that 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce cannot be retrained or re- skilled. So, assume that half of this workforce can continue to work on old skills, then balance will become redundant.

"So, the number of people who will become redundant in the next three years will be about five to six lakhs. This will work out to, on an average, between 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh per year for next three years," Lakshmikanth explained.

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IT professionals protest sacking in Cognizant

Two groupings — the Forum of IT Employees (FITE) and NDLF IT employees wing — are petitioning the Tamil Nadu government against what they call unjustified dismissals of employees at Cognizant.

The FITE has filed a petition at the Tamil Nadu labour department to protect the interests of software engineers who have been sacked on performance grounds, even as companies struggle with changing technology and business shifts.

Cognizant has denied that there have been any layoffs and said employees had been let off because they did not meet performance requirements.

“Cognizant has not conducted any layoffs. Each year, as is the best practice across our industry, we conduct a performance review 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,” said a company spokesperson on email.

“Any actions as a result of this process are performance-based and generally consistent with those we’ve made in previous years. In the March quarter, we hired thousands of professionals — top talent from campuses, as well as from the lateral market,” the company said.

In March, Cognizant trimmed five per cent of its 260,000 workforce as it looked to shift its focus on emerging areas such as digital.

India’s export-focused software firms are facing challenges of automation, and protectionism in their main markets — the US and Europe — and business shifts towards cloud and digital which require skills that are different from traditional services.

NDLF IT Employees Wing, affiliated to the New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF), is planning to expand the union to other states and file grievances with the labour department against the alleged sacking of employees. “We have hundreds of people from the company coming to us. We are in the process of forming a union in each state to strengthen the move,” said Kumar S, working with the Wing.

NDLF IT employees wing has a presence in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It has plans to expand to Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
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At least 9 months' pay! Cognizant top execs get voluntary separation option

Cognizant Technology Solutions has floated a voluntary separation option for its employees at the senior management level, at a time when the company is pushing for automation and digital technology and is in the process of trimming its workforce.

The Nasdaq-listed US-based company, which has most of its India operations in Tamil Nadu, confirmed the development. Other information technology majors did not respond to calls and emails from Business Standard on whether they were also considering similar schemes.

Cognizant said the option had been offered to senior executives — from director level to senior vice-president. Sources in the company said that those who had annual salaries in excess of Rs 40 lakh might also be eligible for the option. A minimum of nine-month salary will be paid as compensation under the initiative, depending on the executive’s post.

The IT firm said the move was related to its overall strategy to accelerate shift to digital and deliver high-quality, sustainable growth. The company will, however, continue to hire across all of its practices and is expanding facilities globally, ensuring that it has the “right expertise to help its clients”.

“As part of these initiatives, we are offering a voluntary separation incentive to some eligible leaders, representing a very small percentage of our total workforce,” said a company spokesperson.
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