Cognizant has launched a global restructuring programme called Project Leap that could affect between 7,000 and 15,000 employees worldwide, with India expected to absorb the bulk of the cuts, given that the company houses about 72% of its 357,600-strong workforce in the country.
The programme was announced on April 29, 2026, alongside the Nasdaq-listed IT services firm’s first-quarter results, with management indicating that the final number of roles affected will depend on the severance policy chosen, whether three months or six months, and on the geographies impacted. Cognizant has said Project Leap will cost between $230 million and $320 million, with up to $270 million earmarked for severance and personnel-related expenses. As of December 31, the company had 256,900 employees in India, 41,600 in North America, 14,600 in continental Europe and 7,800 in the United Kingdom.
Speaking on the post-earnings analyst call, Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal said, “The Project Leap ambition is to drive cost savings through the ‘cost of delivery’ model, and that should also help the gross margin as we execute for the rest of the year.”
The company has officially described the programme as one designed to “accelerate transformation to the operating model of the future” by funding investments in integrated offerings, AI capabilities and partnerships, reshaping productivity through competitive offerings and upskilling the workforce.
Cognizant’s headcount actually rose by 6,000 in the March quarter to 357,600, and management told analysts the company will hire over 20,000 freshers in 2026, suggesting that mid-level engineers with six to twelve years of experience are most at risk under the new structure. Industry observers and exact role-level breakdowns by geography are yet to be confirmed by the company.
Project Leap is the second restructuring programme under CEO Ravi Kumar, following the NextGen exercise three years ago that cost $400 million over two years. It lands in a quarter where TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra have collectively trimmed nearly 7,000 jobs in FY26, and over 40,000 tech sector jobs were cut globally in April 2026 alone, signalling a structural reset of the Indian IT services pyramid as AI-led delivery models take hold.
