Poorly managed organization in a good industry - Software Engineer Cognizant Employee Review

1.0
Aug 26, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

downtown boston location health care industry

Cons

Out-of-date architechure that is hard to maintain and cause a lot of customer complaints. Should've re-designed the entire thing from scratch instead of constantly putting band-aids on a platform that is more than 10 years old. The company is now in the hands of a private equity firm. Senior management seems more willing to cutting costs than allocatiing capital to R&D to develop truly innovative solutions for customers. As a result, it is no surprise that there is more and more outsourcing, but less and less investments in on-shore employees. It's ironic that this is a health-care company, yet its employees receive very poor health-care benefits. Some low level front-line managers come from a relatively strong technical background, but they just don't know how to manage. They often have unrealistic expectation of their direct reports. On one hand, they claim to support work/life balance; on the other, the assignments they give are impossible to complete with regular 8-5 schedule. Even if the assignment is complete with overtime effort, no credit is given since the manager now will complain about the quality. Unfortunately, eventually, these managers still get promoted while their reports get laid off or fired. And these now higher level managers will again hire lower level managers similar to them who don't know how to manage. With years passing by, this is ingrained into the culture and very difficult to change.

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Variety of technology stack and project and lot of learning options.

Cons

Limited remort working oppertunity around.

1.0
Jul 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

None, run dont even consider them

Cons

"India-first mentality." The company says it wants to work with people across the Americas and Europe, but many decisions still seem to follow an Indian way of operating without properly considering local labor laws, regulations, and workplace expectations. There are serious concerns about job stability. The company frequently praises itself for creating employment opportunities, but at the same time, it appears to be bringing more employees from India into U.S. roles while letting go of people from the Americas and Europe who have contributed to the company. This creates uncertainty and raises questions about the company's commitment to its existing workforce. Every meeting seems to be focused on AI : AI this, AI that, AI everywhere. Employees are constantly asked to complete AI related training and adapt to AI initiatives, while at the same time letting people go so they can afford AI. Compensation is another area that needs improvement. After my contributions and time with the company, my last salary increase was only $20, which felt extremely discouraging and showed a lack of appreciation for employees' efforts.

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