After Wipro, Infosys Joins Employee Poaching War Against Rival Cognizant

A day after Wipro sued its former CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Jatin Dalal who recently joined rival Cognizant, it seems that the poaching row among top IT firms has intensified. After Wipro, now Infosys has sent a letter accusing Cognizant of unethical employee poaching tactics.

After Wipro, Infosys Locks Horns With Cognizant

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At least three people familiar with the development have revealed that Infosys sent a written communication to Cognizant after a few of its senior leaders departed to join the firm. "Non-compete clauses are not enforceable but this communication to Cognizant was more of a deterrent", one of the sources cited above said. A second source said it was sent some weeks ago, as per Money Control.

Also Read: Why Former Chairman Azim Premji Is Not Happy With Wipro

Cognizant CEO Is Himself An Infosys Veteran

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Since he took charge in January this year, Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar, an Infosys veteran himself, has hired over twenty executive vice presidents and four senior vice presidents, many of whom are from Wipro and Infosys.

Wipro has now filed suits in the US and India against two of its former executives- Mohd Haque and Jatin Dalal- who joined Cognizant recently. The notable Cognizant hires from Infosys include Anurag Vardhan Sinha, Nageswar Cherukupalli, Narsimha Rao Mannepalli and Shweta Arora.

While the first two have already joined Cognizant, the latter two were tipped to join as head of delivery and head of consulting. But Infosys' move to send a missive may have delayed those plans, according to one of the sources cited above.

While Mannepalli left Infosys in June, Arora left in October. Their LinkedIn profiles haven't been updated to reflect the new organisational roles.

Also Read: Infosys' Narayana Murthy Shares Why He Once Turned Down Air India Job Offer

Employee Poaching Row Amid Weak Business Environment

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The standoff with rival Cognizant comes at a time when both Infosys and Wipro are battling a tough business environment coupled with senior management attrition. As per the report, while Infosys has seen seven to eight leaders depart in the last twelve months, Wipro has seen close to 10 top-level exits this calendar year. Many of them subsequently went on to join rival firms.

Also, earlier this week, Infosys lost a ten-year, $1.5 billion deal which it announced just three months ago in September 2023, with an undisclosed global company.

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