BENGALURU, May 2 -- Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. is cutting jobs as it pivots towards artificial intelligence (AI), marking one of the first instances of a large IT services firm explicitly linking AI-led disruption to headcount.

In an internal memo to more than 350,000 employees, Surya Gummadi, head of Cognizant's US business, said the layoffs reflect a "real" and "accelerated" shift in how the industry operates, with the company moving to redeploy resources towards AI capabilities and partnerships.

"We're making these changes because our industry is shifting in ways that are real and accelerating. The work that's contracting is contracting for a reason. We're choosing to get ahead of that, reinvesting in AI capabilities, in st...