Cognizant Plans Up to 25,000 Fresher Hires in 2026 as AI Boosts Productivity and Delivery Capacity

Cognizant Technology Solutions is reportedly preparing to hire between 24,000 and 25,000 fresh graduates in 2026, representing an increase of about 20 percent compared with the roughly 20,000 campus recruits brought on board in 2025. The planned expansion signals a continued focus on entry-level talent as the company integrates artificial intelligence more deeply into its delivery and workforce strategy.

Of the graduates hired last year, approximately 16,000 have already been deployed to client projects, while nearly 4,000 remain in various stages of training. The figures indicate an ongoing reliance on campus hiring to build future-ready capabilities and sustain long-term growth. By strengthening the early-career segment of its workforce, Cognizant aims to create a broader talent pyramid supported by automation and AI-assisted development tools.

The hiring outlook comes at a time when concerns persist across the technology sector that artificial intelligence could reduce employment opportunities, particularly for entry-level roles. However, Cognizant’s leadership has indicated that AI adoption is instead enabling the company to recruit more fresh graduates by improving productivity and accelerating readiness for client assignments. Through the use of AI platforms, agent-based software, and automation frameworks, new engineers are able to contribute sooner in project environments.

Strategic partnerships with major AI ecosystem providers—including Anthropic, Google’s Gemini, OpenAI, and Microsoft—are supporting this transition. These collaborations are intended to enhance software engineering productivity, streamline service delivery, and embed AI-driven capabilities across enterprise solutions. As a result, entry-level employees can operate alongside digital tools that augment coding, testing, analytics, and operational workflows.

Workforce trends during 2025 reflect this shift. Cognizant added roughly 14,800 employees during the year, expanding total headcount by about 4 percent. Revenue growth outpaced hiring, rising approximately 6.4 percent over the same period, suggesting productivity improvements linked to automation and AI-enabled services. In the December quarter alone, the company increased its workforce by around 1,800 employees, reinforcing steady but measured expansion.

Executives have described the evolving workforce structure as a recalibrated talent pyramid in which a larger share of early-career professionals is supported by AI-assisted delivery models. Embedding artificial intelligence skills at the beginning of employees’ careers allows fresh graduates to transition more quickly from training to billable client work. This blended model—combining human expertise with intelligent automation—is intended to improve efficiency while maintaining service quality.

Geographically, Cognizant continues to recruit graduates across multiple regions, with India and the United States remaining central to its hiring strategy. India serves as a major talent hub for engineering and digital services roles, while US-based recruitment supports client proximity and domain-specific expertise. The company’s global campus outreach reflects sustained demand for technology services despite cautious enterprise spending in some sectors.

Financial performance in the most recent reporting period provides additional context for the hiring plans. Cognizant recorded fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $5.3 billion, representing year-on-year growth of about 4.9 percent. Full-year revenue reached roughly $21.1 billion, an increase of around 7 percent compared with the previous year. Operating margin improved to about 16.1 percent, indicating stronger cost discipline and operational efficiency alongside revenue expansion.

These results suggest that the company’s multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence, automation platforms, and digital engineering capabilities are beginning to influence both growth and workforce strategy. While many global enterprises remain cautious in discretionary technology spending, demand for AI-enabled transformation, cloud modernisation, and data services continues to create hiring opportunities in specialised and entry-level roles alike.

Industry observers note that the relationship between AI adoption and employment is becoming more nuanced. Rather than simply replacing roles, AI in many service-based technology companies is reshaping skill requirements, accelerating onboarding, and expanding the scale at which junior engineers can contribute. Cognizant’s projected increase in fresher hiring reflects this broader structural change within the IT services sector.

For graduates entering the workforce in 2026, the hiring outlook may signal continued opportunity despite automation-related uncertainty. Companies integrating AI into delivery models still require significant human talent to design, manage, and refine intelligent systems. Early-career professionals equipped with AI literacy, software engineering fundamentals, and domain knowledge are therefore likely to remain in demand.

Cognizant has not publicly detailed the exact timeline or distribution of the planned 2026 hiring intake. However, the projected scale underscores confidence in long-term technology services demand and the role of AI in enabling scalable workforce growth. As enterprises accelerate digital transformation initiatives, the company’s emphasis on campus recruitment and AI-augmented productivity is expected to remain central to its operational strategy.

The hiring plans ultimately highlight a shifting narrative within the technology industry: artificial intelligence, rather than uniformly reducing jobs, may in some cases expand opportunities—particularly for workers prepared to operate in AI-integrated environments.