Cognizant to roll out wage hikes for 80% of eligible employees effective Nov 1\n\nETtech\nLast Updated: Aug 14, 2025, 12:38:09 PM IST\n\nThe company, during its second quarter earnings, had said that it plans to award merit-based salary increases for the vast majority of employees during the second half of 2025. After deferring salary hikes, global giant Cognizant Technology Solutions said it will be awarding increments to 80% of its eligible employees effective November 1. The Indian-origin US-headquartered company said its highest performers will be given payouts in the high single digits percentage range. Last year, the company deferred the increments by four months offering them in August with hikes ranging from 1-5%. This year, it has been delayed until November.\n\n\"These increases will be delivered up to, and including, the Senior Associate levels. The amount of these increases will vary depending on individual performance rating and country. In India, pay increases for our consistent highest performers will be in the high single digits,\" a Cognizant spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. Top performers will receive the highest increases, the spokesperson added.\n\nThe company said this aligns with its announcement during its second quarter earnings that it plans to award merit-based salary increases for the vast majority of employees during the second half of 2025. The hikes come at a time when industry leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which recently announced plans of laying off 2% of its workforce – around 12,000 employees, has indefinitely deferred hikes for this year citing uncertain business demand and macro environment. Its immediate rival Infosys, second-largest homegrown IT company, implemented a wage hike in April and has not yet decided on the next pay hike for its employees. Smaller peer Wipro, which made hike payouts in September last year, also said it would decide on salary increases after assessing the demand scenario.\n\nCognizant financials and headcount\n\nLast month, Cognizant reported a nearly 14% increase in net profit for the April to June quarter with a revenue boost of 8.1% from a year earlier to $5.25 billion, beating its own forecast. The Nasdaq-listed company, which serves its global clients primarily from offices based in India with 70% employees here, also raised its full-year revenue guidance to $20.7-21.1 billion, translating into 4.7-6.7% growth backed by inorganic growth. After the Q2 results announcement, chief financial officer Jatin Dalal said the company’s endeavour is to cover a vast majority of its employees during the second half of this year for salary hikes. Earlier this year, Cognizant said it paid most of its associates their highest bonuses in three years.\n\nDespite the continued uncertainties, Cognizant added 7,500 employees, largely freshers, in the June quarter, taking its total headcount to 343,800. \"This is one of the first quarters we have had sequential growth on headcount, predominantly because of freshers we hired in India, which is a part of our plan,\" Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said. The company has a target to hire 15,000-20,000 freshers in 2025.

Cognizant to roll out wage hikes for 80% of eligible employees effective Nov 1

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced it will award merit-based salary increases to 80% of its eligible employees effective November 1, 2025. The hikes, which will be delivered up to and including Senior Associate levels, will range from 1% to high single digits for top performers, with variations based on performance and country. This follows a previous deferral of salary increases by four months in the prior year. The move comes amid industry-wide uncertainty, as rivals TCS and Infosys have either deferred or paused their wage hikes due to macroeconomic challenges. Cognizant reported a 14% increase in net profit and an 8.1% revenue growth in Q2 2025, with full-year revenue guidance raised to $20.7–21.1 billion. The company also added 7,500 employees in the June quarter, bringing its total headcount to 343,800, primarily through hiring freshers in India.