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. Mint has seen a copy of the memo.

"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, rei...