In a significant escalation of the ongoing employee poaching dispute among top IT firms, Infosys has accused Cognizant of engaging in unethical poaching practices. This follows a similar complaint made by Wipro against its former executives who recently joined Nasdaq-listed Cognizant.
According to reports from Moneycontrol, Infosys has sent a written communication to Cognizant after experiencing a significant number of its senior executives leaving to join the rival firm. While non-compete clauses are generally not enforceable, the communication from Infosys to Cognizant is seen as a deterrent against further employee poaching.
Cognizant, under the leadership of CEO Ravi Kumar, who is himself a veteran of Infosys, has seen the hiring of over 20 executive vice presidents and four senior vice presidents, many of whom were formerly associated with Wipro and Infosys.
Wipro, in response to the escalating poaching issues, has filed suits in both the US and India against two of its former executives, Mohd Haque and Jatin Dalal, who recently joined Cognizant.
The legal proceedings initiated by Wipro against Jatin Dalal at a civil court in Bengaluru have prompted Dalal to submit an application, seeking arbitration in the matter. The court is scheduled to hear arguments from both parties on January 3 and decide whether the case should be referred to arbitration.
In the case of Mohd Haque, Wipro alleges that he violated a non-compete clause by joining Cognizant before August and accuses him of uploading confidential information from his personal email account.
The ongoing legal battles underscore the intensity of the competition in the IT sector and the efforts by companies to protect their intellectual property and prevent talent drain to rivals.
