Cognizant attrition at 29%; to hire 30,000 in India

BENGALURU: Cognizant’s quarterly annualised voluntary attrition surged to a record 29% in the second quarter, from 18% in the previous quarter, as the company continues to struggle with the departure of thousands of employees at the junior and mid-senior levels in India. This means that the company lost 331 employees each day on average in the last quarter. Including involuntary attrition (those asked to go), the rate was 31%.

Attrition has spiked among all IT services companies as demand for engineering and programming talent – and especially those armed with digital skills – soars. That war for talent is expected to continue for the rest of the year. But Cognizant’s numbers have surpassed that of all its peers by a wide range.