IT giants Wipro and Infosys have waged a war against rival firm Cognizant, accusing the company for poaching employees. Now, Wipro has claimed ₹25 crore damages from ex-CFO Jatin Dalal shortly after he joined Cognizant.
Earlier this month, Wipro had filed a lawsuit against two of its former executives, including Dalal, after they joined Cognizant. Now, details of the lawsuit state that Wipro accused the CFO of breaching their employment contract, now seeking ₹25 crore in damages.
Wipro filed a civil suit against Dalal for breach of contract, asking him to pay an interest on the amount calculated at the rate of 18% per annum from September 19 till the date of payment, state court papers accessed by the Times of India.
A restraining injunction has also been imposed on the former Wipro CFO, barring him from disclosing confidential information pertaining to the case, and soliciting employees or costumers in any manner.
However, Dalal has filed an appeal in the Bengaluru civil court to refer the matter to arbitration, in order to get it settled out of court. Meanwhile, IT giants are attacking Cognizant for “unethical poaching tactics” against her employees.
Wipro considers Cognizant a competitor, and the IT giant questioned Jatin Dalal regarding his signed undertaking to the US Securities Exchange Commission where it was stated, “I am not bound by the term of any agreement with any previous employer or any other party to refrain from competing directly and directly, with the business of such previous employer or other party, in any case, that would be violated by my entering into this agreement and/or providing services to Cognizant pursuant to the terms hereof…”
Infosys sends notice to Cognizant
Not only Wipro, but India’s biggest IT company Infosys has also sent a notice to Cognizant, seemingly warning the company of taking legal action for allegedly poaching top executives from the firm using unethical techniques.
In a recent hiring session, Cognizant took on 20 top executives from different firms, four of which had resigned from Infosys. “Non-compete clauses are not enforceable but this communication to Cognizant was more of a deterrent,” said a source quoted by Moneycontrol.
This comes as bloated tech giants like Wipro and Infosys are feeling the pressure of the economic slowdown in US and European countries, with shareholders pushing the firms to speed up growth and profits.