Cognizant rolls out salary increments as low as 1% amid fresher package row: Report

In the second quarter ending in June, Cognizant reported a year-on-year (YoY) net profit growth of 22.2 percent and a sequential increase of 3.6 percent, reaching $566 million. (Photo: Pixabay)

IT giant Cognizant, which has been in news for reportedly offering decadal low packages for the freshers, recently rolled out the annual salary hikes for the employees. An August 15 report by the Economic Times said that the increments were as low as 1 percent.

Based upon the ratings given by the management, the increments vary from 1 percent to 5 percent. So, a 3-rating employee has been offered increments between 1 and 3 percent, whereas a 4-rating has got 4 percent hike. A 5-rating staff has got 4.5 to 5 percent increment, the ET report said.

In comparison with last year, these hikes have witnessed a sharp decline. The ET report said that in 2023, the increments ranged between 7 percent and 11 percent. While the last year’s increments were given in April, this year, the hikes were delayed by four months.

The Nasdaq-listed company, which has its headquarters in New Jersey, has 70 percent of its a workforce in India. This comes to about 254,000 employees.

In the second quarter ending in June, Cognizant reported a year-on-year (YoY) net profit growth of 22.2 percent and a sequential increase of 3.6 percent, reaching $566 million. However, its revenue stood at $4.85 billion, marking a slight decline of 0.7percent compared to the previous year.

"In the second quarter, we delivered revenue above the high end of our guidance range, expanded adjusted operating margin, and maintained our large deal momentum," said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S.

"Progress against our strategic priorities is opening new opportunities with clients and allowing us to operate with greater agility. We believe our performance this quarter and the improved organic growth outlook for the full year demonstrate how our execution against these priorities is beginning to translate to our results and support long-term shareholder value," he further added.