Cognizant starts sending bonus letters to eligible employees; says it is ...

Cognizant has started releasing letters informing eligible employees about their bonus payouts, reports news agency PTI. Citing unnamed sources, the report says that bonus payouts at the IT giant range between 85% and 115%. It adds that a majority of employees are expected to receive the payouts, making it the highest bonus level in three years.
Internal communications reveal the company has started sending e-letters about 2024 bonus payouts, which will be distributed in March and April based on country-specific payroll schedules.
"Eligible associates will receive bonus e-letters this week. Payouts will be issued throughout March and April based on individual country payroll schedules," the source said.
In addition to the bonus, Cognizant has announced that merit pay increases, or salary hikes, will commence on August 1, 2025, a year after the previous salary revision.

Last month, another major IT giant Infosys sent out salary hikes to its employees based on their performance. The company categorized employees into three performance levels. Those who "met expectations" received a salary increase of 5-7%, while employees with "commendable performance" got a hike of 7-10%. A smaller group of "outstanding performers" saw increments ranging from 10-20%. However, employees rated under the "needs improvement" category did not receive any salary hike.
As per an Economic Times report, most employees received an increase between 5% and 8%, while top performers were rewarded with a higher raise. The salary revision applies to employees at two job levels. Those in Job Level 5, which includes team leaders and lower positions, will receive the pay hike retroactively from January 1, 2024. Meanwhile, employees at Job Level 6, who are managers below the vice president level, will get their revised salaries starting from April 1, 2024.