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Cognizant may cut 12,000-15,000 jobs globally
05 May 2026

Cognizant, a leading IT services company, is considering a major workforce reduction that could affect between 12,000 and 15,000 employees worldwide, as per Moneycontrol.

The bulk of the layoffs are likely to be in India where the company has more than 250,000 employees.

The news comes after Cognizant announced Project Leap last week and estimated severance costs of $230 million-$320 million under this initiative.

Shift in IT services industry
Industry change

The potential layoffs at Cognizant also reflect a larger shift in the IT services industry.

Industry executives have noted that clients are increasingly moving away from traditional staffing models, with one executive saying, "Customers are not okay with full pyramids anymore and don't want to fund training of freshers."

Layoff estimates based on salary and severance assumptions
Layoff estimation

The estimated layoffs at Cognizant are based on salary and severance assumptions across different geographies.

In India, the average annual salary is about ₹15 lakh with severance typically around six months of pay. This amounts to roughly ₹7.5 lakh per employee which could impact around 12,000-13,000 employees in India alone.

For higher-cost areas like the US, average salaries are much higher often around $100,000 annually with severance between four to six months.

Workforce design shift at Cognizant
Workforce design

Along with the potential layoffs, Cognizant is also signaling a structural shift in workforce design.

The company is moving toward "a broader and shorter pyramid" and a model that combines "digital labor and human labor," Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said.

This comes as large IT services firms are restructuring their workforce amid slower discretionary spending, increased automation, and growing adoption of AI-led delivery models.