{"id":1298461,"date":"2025-08-03T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T04:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1298461"},"modified":"2025-08-03T10:00:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T04:30:38","slug":"cognizant-still-undecided-on-salary-hike-of-eligible-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/cognizant-still-undecided-on-salary-hike-of-eligible-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognizant Still Undecided On Salary Hike Of Eligible Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Cognizant has become the latest IT giant to <strong>delay employee salary hikes<\/strong>, citing an uncertain macroeconomic environment. This shift, confirmed by CFO Jatin Dalal during a recent earnings call, marks a continued departure from the company&#8217;s traditional March hike cycle, now twice deferred under CEO Ravi Kumar\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-3-6-1280x720-1-1-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"Cognizant Still Undecided On Salary Hike Of Eligible Employees\" class=\"wp-image-1298467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-3-6-1280x720-1-1-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-3-6-1280x720-1-1-1024x576-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-3-6-1280x720-1-1-1024x576-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While <strong>bonuses were paid in March as usual<\/strong>, the <strong>timeline for salary increments\u2014originally expected in August\u2014has now been left undecided<\/strong>, with a vague assurance that a \u201cvast majority\u201d of employees may be covered in the second half of 2025. Last year\u2019s hikes ranged between 1\u20135%, and the current delay reflects growing cost consciousness in the face of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/companies\/news\/cognizant-salary-hikes-2025-delay-second-half-uncertainty-125073101251_1.html\"><strong>volatile global demand<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Industry-Wide Hiring Freeze and Hike Deferrals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cognizant\u2019s decision follows similar moves by <strong>Wipro<\/strong>, which has postponed its decision on hikes until demand stabilizes, and <strong>TCS<\/strong>, which has deferred hikes indefinitely after <strong>laying off 12,000 employees globally<\/strong> due to \u201cskill mismatch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This trend underscores the broader challenges confronting Indian IT firms\u2014<strong>sluggish demand<\/strong>, <strong>geopolitical instability<\/strong>, and <strong>economic unpredictability<\/strong>, including fresh headwinds from <strong>retaliatory tariffs announced by US President Trump<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hiring Still On, But Cautiously<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, Cognizant continues to add new talent, with <strong>7,500 new hires in Q2<\/strong>, bringing its global headcount to <strong>343,800<\/strong>. The company remains committed to <strong>hiring 15,000\u201320,000 freshers<\/strong> in 2025 from Indian colleges, emphasizing <strong>AI-assisted onboarding<\/strong> to enhance productivity even among new joiners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this influx of fresh talent may be a <strong>cost-optimization strategy<\/strong>, as fresher salaries are significantly lower than those of mid- and senior-level employees. Attrition has also <strong>risen to 15.2%<\/strong>, suggesting internal dissatisfaction amidst uncertainty over raises and job security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Takeaway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cognizant\u2019s deferment of salary hikes is part of a <strong>larger, industry-wide recalibration<\/strong>, as IT companies brace for <strong>weaker demand<\/strong>, <strong>rising costs<\/strong>, and <strong>pressure to maintain margins<\/strong>. While <strong>freshers continue to be hired<\/strong>, the industry\u2019s pivot toward <strong>leaner structures and AI integration<\/strong> could mean prolonged wage stagnation, heavier workloads, and fewer opportunities for career growth in the short term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This evolving scenario raises an important question: <strong>Can the Indian IT sector balance cost control with talent retention in the age of AI and economic turbulence?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cognizant has become the latest IT giant to delay employee salary hikes, citing an uncertain macroeconomic environment. This shift, confirmed by CFO Jatin Dalal during a recent earnings call, marks a continued departure from the company&#8217;s traditional March hike cycle, now twice deferred under CEO Ravi Kumar\u2019s leadership. While bonuses were paid in March as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1298467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[565,377],"class_list":["post-1298461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-cognizant","tag-salary-hike"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cognizant Still Undecided On Salary Hike Of Eligible Employees - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/cognizant-still-undecided-on-salary-hike-of-eligible-employees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cognizant Still Undecided On Salary Hike Of Eligible Employees - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cognizant has become the latest IT giant to delay employee salary hikes, citing an uncertain macroeconomic environment. 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