Business News
I-T dispute will not impact salary revisions, says Cognizant
These developments would have no bearing on the firm’s ability to continue to support, reward and recognise its associates across the world.
Nasdaq-listed Cognizant has assured its employees that their salaries and wage revisions will not be impacted due to the income-tax dispute.
As on December 31, 2017, the company had 260,000 employees. Out of this, over 75% are based out of India.
In an email to employees, Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer of Cognizant, said: “You may have seen some media reports about the actions recently attempted by the Indian Income-Tax Department against Cognizant.
I am writing to you to let you know our position and reinforce that Cognizant’s business operations, our associates and our work with clients are not being impacted by this.”
The High Court of Chennai, she said, heard the matter and instructed the Income-Tax Department not to take further action on this matter pending further hearings before the court. “We believe that the positions taken by the Indian Income-Tax Department are contrary to law and without merit.
We have paid all applicable taxes due on the transaction that is being disputed by the Income-Tax Department. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves and will pursue all available legal remedies,” she added.
The CFO said Cognizant was committed to the highest standards of ethics and compliance in “all our actions in all jurisdictions where we operate’’.
Ms. Karen, in her email, reassured employees that these developments would have no bearing on the firm’s ability to continue to support, reward or recognise its associates across the world.
“Cognizant’s balance sheet is robust with over $5 billion dollars in cash and short-term investments, and our business continues to remain healthy.
As such, your pay-roll and the promotion cycles and wage revisions announced by Jim Lennox last week will not be in any way impacted because of these developments.
Please continue to focus on the good work you are doing for our clients, enabling them to drive digital transformation at scale,” she said.
