



Cognizant to lay off employees as AI drives ‘real and accelerating’ change
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. is cutting jobs as it pivots towards artificial intelligence (AI), marking one of the first instances of a large IT services firm explicitly linking AI-led disruption to headcount.In an internal memo to more than 350,000 employees, Surya Gummadi, head of Cognizant’s US business, said the layoffs reflect a “real” and “accelerated” shift in how the industry operates, with the company moving to redeploy resources towards AI capabilities and partnerships.
Mint has seen a copy of the memo.“We’re making these changes because our industry is shifting in ways that are real and accelerating. The work that’s contracting is contracting for a reason.
We’re choosing to get ahead of that, reinvesting in AI capabilities, in stronger partnerships, and in equipping our people for the work that’s going to matter most,” Gummadi said.The job cuts are part of Project Leap, an internal initiative to fund AI-led projects, partnerships and service offerings, Mint reported on 29 April citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The programme will involve at least 4,000 layoffs, or roughly 1% of Cognizant’s workforce.Cognizant expects the initiative to cost up to $320 million, including as much as $270 million in severance, and generate about $300 million in savings this year.
The company said those savings will be reinvested in improving its AI offerings.“This involves real change and I know that’s not easy. This effort will free up resources to make those investments real.
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