Cognizant was accused by Infosys of using unethical recruitment practices. This allegation from Infosys comes after rival IT firm Wipro made similar allegations and filed a lawsuit against two former executives who are currently employed at Cognizant.
According to Moneycontrol, insiders familiar with the matter revealed that Infosys had sent a written communication to Cognizant after some of its senior leaders left to join the rival firm.
One source clarified that while non-compete clauses are not legally binding, Infosys’ communication aimed more at acting as a deterrent. Another source mentioned that this communication was sent several weeks ago.
Ravi Kumar, who became the CEO of Cognizant in January after leaving Infosys, has hired four senior vice presidents and more than twenty executive vice presidents, many of whom worked with Infosys and Wipro previously. Mohd Haque and Jatin Dalal, two former executives who just joined Cognizant, were sued by Wipro in the US and India.
Prominent hires by Cognizant 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 expected to take leadership roles, but Infosys’ communication may have disrupted those plans. Mannepalli left Infosys in June, and Arora departed in October. As of now, their LinkedIn profiles have not been updated to reflect their new roles.
Infosys has witnessed the departure of 7-8 leaders in the last twelve months, while Wipro has experienced nearly 10 top-level exits in the current calendar year, with many subsequently joining rival firms.
