Cognizant, Accenture, TCS, PwC India announced bonus, promotions, and salary hike in March 2021
IT services major Cognizant said earlier this month that it is offering bonuses that are “substantially higher than 2019” and has promoted more than 24,000 employees across levels.
The step, aimed at helping the company stem attrition, will also see Cognizant moving to a quarterly promotion cycle for billable employees at the senior associate level and below, starting in the June quarter of 2021.
“In recognition of the professionalism, client-centricity, work ethic and perseverance of our employees globally in serving our clients during this protracted pandemic, we are rewarding bonuses above the level of company performance and substantially higher than 2019, despite 2020 being an extraordinarily challenging year,” Cognizant India Chairman and Managing Director Rajesh Nambiar said in a statement.
The company is also offering about 1,60,000 employees with merit increases globally, and has promoted more than 24,000 employees across every level, he added.
Cognizant has over two lakh of its 2.9 lakh employees based in India. At the end of the December 2020 quarter, the company had a headcount of 2,89,500 and its total attrition was at 19 per cent and voluntary attrition at 16 per cent.
Last week, Accenture has announced a one-time bonus, which will be equal to one week’s base salary for all employees, globally, below the level of the managing director.
Accenture’s announcement came along with its second-quarter results where its revenue stood at $12.1 billion, an increase of 8% in US dollars. The company’s new bookings were at $16 billion, a 13 percent increase from the same period, last year. Accenture now expects its full-year revenue to grow between 6.5 percent and 8.5 percent in the local currency, a jump from the company’s previous guidance of 4 percent to 6 percent.
This bonus recognizes the exceptional contributions and dedication of all Accenture people to its clients during this challenging year, said the company.
Earlier this month, consulting firm PwC India had also announced a similar one-time bonus for all its employees in India. PwC’s bonus would be equal to two weeks’ pay for its 15,000 employees.
This bonus is a token of appreciation for the employees’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be included along with the March 2021 salary. This bonus is independent of the usual appraisal and increment cycle.
Sanjeev Krishan, the chairman of PwC India, said in a statement that the company is proud and humbled by the way the employees “got together and ensured that we and our clients not only navigate the crisis well but also emerge stronger from it”.
On Friday, 19 March, India’s biggest IT major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced a second salary hike within six months, effective from the month of April this year. It would be covering more than 469,000 employees.
Previously, the company had rolled out salary hikes by 6-8 per cent in October 2020. With the upcoming hike, TCS employees will get around 12-14 per cent average increment in six months’ time.