As per the earlier report, an American multinational information technology services and consulting company, Cognizant would eliminate 80,000 seats or 11 million sq feet of office space to bring the cost down further.
Chief Executive Officer Ravi Kumar S said, “This reduction in real estate costs is net of investments to expand our real estate footprint in smaller cities, primarily in India, in support of our hybrid work strategy.”
Now as per the reports of the Hindu, DLF Ltd said that Cognizant has given up 30-35% of spaces in its office portfolio primarily in Chennai over the years. The company has given up about 60% of space in some of the other buildings that it occupied.
Sriram Khattar, Managing Director, Rental Business, DLF Ltd, said, ” Cognizant vacates, the mark-to-market rentals were about 18-25% higher depending on the location compared to the existing rentals.”
“Downtown 2 and Downtown 3 projects in Gurgaon and Downtown in Chennai together have 9 million square feet of office space and it has been predominantly taken up by the global capability centers (GCCs)”, he added.
The company’s Total headcount at the end of the first quarter was 351,500, a decrease of 3,800 from Q4 2022 and an increase of 11,100 from Q1 2022. Additionally, the Voluntary attrition – Tech Services on a trailing-twelve-month basis, declined to 23% from 26% in Q4 2022 and 30% in Q1 2022.
In the second quarter of 2023, the company initiated the NextGen program aimed at simplifying the operating model, optimizing corporate functions, and consolidating and realigning office space to reflect the post-pandemic hybrid work environment.
The company’s drive for simplification will include operating with fewer layers to enhance agility and enable faster decision-making. The company expects the savings generated by the program to help fund continued investments in the people, revenue growth opportunities, and the modernization of the office space.
