Cognizant CFO Says No Decision Yet on Employee Salary Hikes, Plans to Implement in H2

Cognizant has not yet finalised a timeline for employee salary hikes in 2025. The company typically begins increments from August 1, 2025, but delays are expected this year. As per news reports, Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal said most employees will be covered in the second half of the year, depending on evolving macroeconomic conditions.

As per news reports, the company’s stance aligns with several other Indian IT firms such as TCS, Wipro, HCLTech, and Persistent Systems. Among Tier-I IT firms, Infosys is the only one to have implemented wage hikes in FY26 so far.

Headcount and Attrition Trends

Cognizant added approximately 7,500 employees in the April-June quarter. The company’s total workforce now stands at 343,800. Attrition has declined to 15.2% on a trailing 12-month basis, down by 60 basis points from the previous quarter.

At the earnings conference on July 31, CFO Dalal stated, “Given the macro environment at play and the uncertainty around it, we have not yet taken a decision on salary increase. Our endeavour is to cover a vast majority of our employees during the second half of this year as and when we decide.”

Hiring Plans and Training Initiatives

In 2025, the company aims to hire between 15,000 and 20,000 freshers. CEO Ravi Kumar S noted that much of the recent headcount increase was driven by campus hires in India. Cognizant is also developing a 21-acre training facility in Chennai to prepare employees for work in AI and emerging technologies.

Cognizant Q2 Earnings Results

Revenue for Q2 stood at $5.25 billion, an 8.1% increase year-on-year. Constant currency growth came in at 7.2%, above the company’s guided range of 5–6.5%. Net profit rose 14% to $645 million. The company has revised its full-year constant currency growth forecast to 4–6%, up from 3.5-6%.

Read More: Cognizant Tops TCS & Infosys with 8.1% Revenue Growth, Q2 Profit Up 14%!

Conclusion

Cognizant is holding back on salary decisions for now but plans to cover most of its workforce later in the year. Meanwhile, the company continues to expand its workforce and meet revenue targets.

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