Cognizant reduces India offices amid hybrid work shift
CHENNAI, INDIA — Major information technology (IT) services company Cognizant is reducing its office footprint in India by exiting 80,000 seats and 11 million square feet, primarily in large cities.
This move reflects Cognizant’s shift towards a hybrid work model in the post-pandemic era.
With major hubs in Chennai and Coimbatore, Cognizant had a global workforce of 346,600 as of September 2023. However, the company did not disclose the specific employee count at each center and decline to comment on the potential impact of the space reduction on jobs or operations.
Cognizant’s presence in the Coimbatore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which houses various other IT giants like Robert Bosch and Amazon, dates back to 2009. This downsizing is part of the company’s NextGen program, launched in May, aimed to lower real estate expenses in prime locations and redistribute resources to smaller centers. By 2025, Cognizant expects to cut annual real estate costs by $100 million compared to 2022 expenses.
CEO Ravi Kumar emphasized a flexible approach to returning to work, differentiating the company’s strategy from its competitors.
Despite these changes, Cognizant reported a modest 0.8% revenue increase to $4.9 billion in the July-September quarter, with a slight growth in headcount and a notable drop in voluntary attrition rates.
