CTS bucks trend, pays bonuses

CHENNAI: Some good news from the IT sector at last! Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), India���s fourth largest software company in terms of revenue and staff strength, is riding against the tide to hand out handsome bonuses to employees across the board.
The IT major is paying employees the full variable pay component this year at a time when tech giants like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as well as tier-II players like Hexaware are cutting pay or even laying off staff.
Most Indian tech companies pay employees 20-35% of their gross remuneration as variable pay with senior executives sometimes getting over 50%. TOI spoke to several Cognizant employees who said they had received a bonus. In some cases, the amount is the full component of the variable pay, which varies according to seniority.
Among the top five IT companies in India, Cognizant ranks fourth both in terms of revenues ($2.8 billion) and headcount with nearly 62,000 employees.
���It���s a relief to be receiving this bit of news in the current scenario. There has been a lot of talk from the industry that pay cheques will be revised downwards, we had also heard about layoffs,������ an employee said.
Confirming the development, a company spokesperson told TOI, ���Cognizant has paid good incentives for the year 2008 in keeping with our philosophy of sharing the results of good company performance with our associates. As compensation is confidential information, we cannot reveal any further details.������
Cognizant reported a 32% rise in revenue for the fiscal year ended 31, December 2008 and ended the period with over $900 million in cash.