4,400 people left Cognizant in June quarter

Cognizant had a heacount of 256,800 people in the June quarter

Cognizant’s headcount reduced by 4,400 people to 256,800 in the quarter to June over the previous quarter due to "performance evaluations" and "voluntary separation programme". 

It joined firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Tech Mahindra, to show negative net hiring amid technological shifts towards cloud and digital. TCS employee count dipped by 1,415 to 385,809, while Infosys reduced its people strength by 1,811 to 198,553 in the quarter, compared to the previous quarter. Tech Mahindra saw staff strength reduce by 1,713 to 115,980. 

Cognizant, which has most of its workforce in India, had a heacount of 256,800 people in the June quarter. This stood at 261,200 employees at the end of March, 2017. "Our attrition level was higher than normal given reductions resulting from performance evaluations and the voluntary separation programme," CFO Karen McLoughlin said on an earnings call. The annualised attrition rate stood at 23.6 per cent, including BPO and trainees, during the June quarter.

"While we will of course carefully manage headcount, we will continue to hire and invest in critical skills needed to grow our digital business. And we expect attrition to decline in the coming months," she said.