Cognizant plans to hire roughly 25,000 more employees by 2026

Cognizant to Hire 25,000 Freshers in 2026, Expands Entry-Level Workforce Strategy

IT services major Cognizant plans to hire around 24,000–25,000 fresh graduates in 2026 as part of its strategy to strengthen its entry-level workforce and build a broader talent pyramid.

The hiring target is about 20% higher than 2025, when the company onboarded nearly 20,000 graduates.

Speaking during the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call, CEO Ravi Kumar S said Cognizant is focusing on shifting high-value technology skills to junior employees with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). He explained that the company aims to grow revenue without increasing headcount at the same pace.

In 2025, Cognizant’s revenue grew 6.4% (constant currency), while its workforce increased only 4%, leading to a 5% rise in revenue per employee.

“We are hiring more school graduates every year. The idea is to pass on expertise to people at the bottom and create a broader pyramid early in their careers,” Kumar said.

Of the 20,000 graduates hired last year, 16,000 are already working on client projects, while 4,000 are still undergoing training.

CFO Jatin Dalal said the company expects to increase fresher hiring by about 20% in 2026, taking the total to nearly 25,000.

Cognizant is also changing its recruitment model, moving away from traditional linear hiring to a graded structure. This includes a premium category called “Tech Wizards” for IIT recruits, along with power programmers and software engineers.

Kumar said the company now values “learnability” more than experience. “Technology is changing very fast. Fresh graduates adapt quickly and don’t need to unlearn old ways of working,” he added.

Addressing concerns over AI-related job losses, Kumar said while some old roles may disappear, new opportunities will be created as companies modernise their systems.

For the December quarter, Cognizant reported an 18.7% rise in net income to $648 million. Revenue increased 4.9% year-on-year to $5.33 billion.

As of December 31, 2025, the company had 351,600 employees globally, up 14,800 from a year ago.