Cognizant, a world-renowned IT services firm, has decided to offload its headquarters located in Chennai, India which could fetch a staggering Rs 800 crore as reported in Times of India. This building has been a major point of focus for Cognizant in India for over 20 years signalling its loyal presence in the country. The impressive campus lies on a land area of thirteen acres on the IT corridor of Chennai and also houses a whole forty lakhs of office accommodation.

In order to complete the transaction, cognizant has retained JLL, one of the leading property consultants with a diverse portfolio of real estate services including global M&A and investment sales. The sale has seen interest from a number of local real estate players and developers with some players like Baashyaam Group and Casagrand in talks for the purchase of the property. This interest further shows the huge worth and value of the location within the fast-evolving IT environment in Chennai.

Cognizant Eyes up to Rs 800 Crore Deal

Selling the premises located in Chennai by surrendering their operational plan for Indian markets is the new plan of action by the management meaning to refinance. The company is evaluating the option of shifting its Indian offices to the MEPZ campus in GST Road, Chennai, close to Tambaram.

This action, in the eyes of the critics, is an attempt to streamline its operations to three different areas- MEPZ, Sholinganallur, and the Siruseri areas. In doing so Cognizant wants to increase efficiency and reduce the level of overheads as well as improve the fit between current and evolving business activities and real estate assets.

Further development also comes at a time when Cognizant is already embroiled in a major controversy regarding how it hires employees. The firm was in the limelight after facing a torrent of complaints about their offer of paying around Rs 2.52 lakh per year to new employees fresh out of college. This was considered disappointing by many as it sounded more of a minimum wage and was ridiculed as being a disguised form of child exploitation. This is mostly because most of these fresh recruits will be working in capital cities with high rates of inflation and high cost of living.

Owing to the hue and cry raised over the issue, Cognizant issued a rejoinder categorically denying the allegations made. Surya Gummadi, Executive Vice President and President of Cognizant Americas explained that the specific job advertisement which raised concerns was for non-engineers and that the specific salary was only for non-engineering graduates.

He added that those fresh engineering recruits in Cognizant are offered a good annual salary card, ranging from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, depending on their skills and on the job they are taken up.

This scenario emphasizes the constraints and critics of large multinational companies such as Cognizant as regards the various dimensions of employee remuneration and business direction amidst global competition. Both the choice to divest the head office in Chennai and the quandary over fresher pay suggest the changes that are taking place within the company as it positions itself in the highly competitive global IT service market.