The Workforce AI Index · Technology
Cognizant (CTSH)
A services firm with most people in India. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-12. Ranked 6 of the 24 Technology companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
An IT services company whose filing states its headcount by region, with 73% in India, and nothing by kind of work, so the regions are recorded and the patterns follow the description of its services.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 29% now, 54% at the end of 2027, 67% at the end of 2028, 72% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 72% desk work, 22% people work and 6% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 29% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 55% becomes checking a model's work and 11% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
351,600 employees as of 2025-12-31 (stated). The filing states North America at 41,600 (11.8%), not the U.S. alone; India holds 256,900 (73%), Continental Europe 14,600, the United Kingdom 7,800 and other locations 30,700.
The filing: “As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 351,600 employees, with 256,900 in India, 41,600 in North America, 14,600 in Continental Europe, 7,800 in the United Kingdom and 30,700 in various other locations throughout the rest of the world.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 70% | By (c): the filing states employees by region but not by kind of work, and describes the business as helping clients 'modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences', which is technology services delivered mostly from India; the largest share goes to the computer systems design pattern by description, and under rule 7 the pattern applies to the workforce abroad because the work is the same. |
| Business Support Services | 20% | By (c): the filing describes process operations run for clients among its services, which BLS counts in business support services; no count is stated, so the share is read from the description. |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 10% | By (c): consulting is described as part of the services, read into the management consulting pattern by description for lack of a stated count. |
What the filing says about the workforce: 351,600 employees, 73% in India; about 39% women and 61% men; an internal job move program and talent marketplace; a talent intelligence model for skills. No split by kind of work is stated.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Computer Systems Design and Related Services, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Accenture (ACN, 779,000 employees)30% now, 66% by 2028
- IBM (IBM, 264,300 employees)23% now, 67% by 2028
- General Dynamics Corporation (GD, 117,000 employees)18% now, 46% by 2028
- DXC Technology Company (DXC, 115,000 employees)26% now, 68% by 2028
- Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (KD, 72,000 employees)24% now, 69% by 2028
- EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM, 62,850 employees)24% now, 69% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
88 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing calls the company 'an AI builder', describes a global 'Vibe Coding Week' in which associates produced more than 30,000 prototypes with AI coding tools, and a talent intelligence model to identify the skills the workforce needs; AI appears throughout its services and its risk factors.
- “Form 10-K Summary 45 SIGNATURES 46 INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE F-1 GLOSSARY Defined Term Definition 10b5-1 Plan Trading plan adopted pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act 2009 Incentive Plan Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Amended and Restated 2009 Incentive Compensation Plan 2017 Incentive Plan Cognizant Technology Solutions C...”
- “There are a number of important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions globally, in particular in the markets in which our clients and operations are concentrated; intense and evolving competition and significant technological advances that our service offerings must...”
- “We help clients modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in today's fast-changing world, where AI is reshaping organizations in every field.”
- “As an AI builder, we provide deep expertise at the intersection of industry and technology, combining our perspective with extensive knowledge of our clients' organizations to build industry-specific platforms and incorporate context into systems, AI models and custom solutions.”
- “In order to achieve this vision and support our clients, we are focusing on accelerating growth, becoming an employer of choice and simplifying our operations through modernization and an AI-enabled IT roadmap.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 351,600 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K |
| 2024-12-31 | 336,800 | 2025-02-12 | 10-K |
| 2023-12-31 | 347,700 | 2024-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2022-12-31 | 355,300 | 2023-02-15 | 10-K |
| 2021-12-31 | 300,000 | 2022-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2020-12-31 | 289,500 | 2021-02-12 | 10-K |
| 2019-12-31 | 292,500 | 2020-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2018-12-31 | 281,600 | 2019-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2017-12-31 | 260,000 | 2018-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2016-12-31 | 260,200 | 2017-03-01 | 10-K |
| 2015-12-31 | 221,700 | 2016-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2014-12-31 | 211,500 | 2015-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2013-12-31 | 133,000 | 2014-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2012-12-31 | 124,100 | 2013-02-26 | 10-K |
| 2011-12-31 | 137,700 | 2012-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2010-12-31 | 104,000 | 2011-02-23 | 10-K |
| 2009-12-31 | 78,400 | 2010-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2008-12-31 | 61,700 | 2009-03-02 | 10-K |
| 2007-12-31 | 55,400 | 2008-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2006-12-31 | 38,800 | 2007-02-16 | 10-K |
| 2005-12-31 | 24,300 | 2006-03-15 | 10-K |
| 2004-12-31 | 14,000 | 2005-03-16 | 10-K |
| 2003-12-31 | 8,500 | 2004-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2002-12-31 | 3,470 | 2003-03-14 | 10-K |
| 2001-12-31 | 3,470 | 2002-03-11 | 10-K |
| 2000-12-31 | 631 | 2001-03-15 | 10-K |
| 1999-12-31 | 2,000 | 2000-03-07 | 10-K |
| 1998-12-31 | 1,400 | 1999-03-19 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No split by kind of work is stated; the pattern shares follow the business description (c).
- The filing states North America, not the U.S.; most people are in India.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001058290-26-000008, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Cognizant's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 29% now and 67% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Cognizant's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Cognizant employ?
- 351,600 as of December 31, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025 states.
- What kinds of work make up Cognizant's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 3 industry staffing patterns, the largest Computer Systems Design and Related Services; by those patterns the work is about 72% desk work, 22% people work and 6% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Cognizant's annual report say about AI?
- 88 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.