No Raises and Laying People Off left and right - Software Developer Cognizant Employee Review

2.0
Jan 30, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

401K match of 50% of first 6% invested.

Cons

Mass layoffs through their 'Bench Policy'. Once you off-board from a client project, you better pray to God that you find another one (and yes, I mean YOU because you are pretty much on your own finding one) because they only give you 35 days not being on a project and they give you the boot. This isn't considered a 'Layoff' where the news is concerned so it's a backdoor way for them to not have to tell the world/investors that they layed off a WAY bigger percentage of their workforce than they want to admit. I, thankfully have been on a client project consistently but how they have gotten rid of incredibly talented and valuable people based on this policy is a complete joke. I have zero respect for the leadership and I can't wait for the day that I find a better opportunity elsewhere. Another thing, they rate employees on a 1-5 scale at the end of the year and that is supposed to reflect in your raise, well, last year even people rated at a 4 & 5 (the highest) got the same size raise as lower-rated employees. So all of us who broke our backs for this company were basically told that we were worth the same amount as someone who did the bare minimum or even less. Total insult!

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
Apr 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good and the bedt onr

Cons

No cons that i can think of

1.0
Jan 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cognizant paid decently well and the people from smaller acquired companies were great.

Cons

The culture at Cognizant was extremely negative. Lots of empty promises about company structure, bonuses, everything. Employees were constantly told things that were completely untrue. We were told we'd be paid out bonuses at certain times and then have to continue asking for them months later. But, if you leave prior to the annual bonus actually being paid, you do not receive your bonus. Cognizant did not provide a service that I felt good about selling. We were required to include offshore resources who did not have the proper training, skill, or knowledge to complete projects they were placed on. It was a disgusting feeling to sell sub-par work that I tried to avoid at all cost. Cognizant led meetings were comprised of around 75 people sometimes for calls that my previous company would handle (better) with 2-3. Presentation and proposal decks would reach 150+slides that absolutely no customer would ever review. These meetings and proposals were a complete waste of time and money. Many Cognizant employees were not good team players. They would attempt to blame others for mistakes they had made even when there was a clear trail pointing to the truth. All in all, it was a very sad experience to be with a phenomenal company for years prior to being acquired by Cognizant, only to watch the amazing culture we had built be completely destroyed. I am very happy to not be associated with Cognizant anymore and I'd recommend anybody considering to go elsewhere.

4
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