US-based IT services giant Cognizant, which maintains a substantial workforce in India, has announced its plan to hire 20,000 fresh graduates in 2025. This recruitment drive is a strategic move aimed at reshaping the company’s talent pyramid, particularly to support its expanding focus on managed services and AI-driven software development.
While Cognizant’s total headcount remained largely unchanged from the previous quarter at 336,300 employees, the company’s leadership underscored the significance of talent amplification as it advances its growth and innovation strategy.
“At our Investor Day, we outlined our plan to onboard 20,000 freshers as part of our broader strategy—more than double our intake from last year,” said CEO Ravi Kumar S.
Kumar emphasized that the surge in managed services projects over the past two years has made it necessary to expand the entry-level workforce. He also noted that the increase in fresh hires brings the added advantage of maintaining a larger bench at a lower cost, particularly in offshore operations.
Cognizant is currently focusing on three key priorities: hiring fresh talent, enhancing productivity through AI, and improving resource utilisation to better manage human capital costs.
The company also highlighted a notable return of talent, with 14,000 former employees having rejoined the organisation and an additional 10,000 in the pipeline.
“Through talent amplification, we’re strengthening our talent pipeline with skills aligned to the demands of the AI era. As shared during our Investor Day, we’re investing in large-scale upskilling, deploying AI to meet demand more efficiently, and targeting emerging talent pools to support AI-driven initiatives,” Kumar added.
For the January–March 2025 quarter, Cognizant reported a 7.45% year-on-year revenue growth, reaching USD 5.1 billion.
