This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
For the first time, Americans can see exactly how a major U.S. employer outsources American jobs, not in vague terms, but through formal documentation. A binding contract between Prudential Financial Inc. and Cognizant Technology Solutions lays out a step-by-step playbook for eliminating American jobs and shifting the work to foreign workers overseas.
This isn't theory, it's in writing. The document provides rare black-and-white evidence of how U.S.-based work is "transitioned" out of the country. While Americans have heard stories about being forced to train their replacements, this agreement reveals the actual process behind those headlines: how Prudential worked with Cognizant to plan, schedule and execute a full transfer of work to offshore teams, with American employees pushed out in the process.
The devil is in the details: The betrayal in black and white
Section 1.1(b) of the agreement openly states that the work previously handled by Prudential employees would be "eliminated" and reassigned to Cognizant. These weren't new jobs. They were the same roles Americans had been doing – application support, software maintenance, reporting – all now classified as functions to be transitioned out.
The language is careful but clear. Cognizant wouldn't just be stepping in to help; it was there to take over. The contract also gave Cognizant the right to perform any "incidental" tasks needed to complete the work, even if not spelled out directly. In other words, it had wide authority to expand its control over operations once embedded.
The built-in replacement plan
The contract's Transition Services section describes the process by which Cognizant would assume responsibility for Prudential's internal IT operations. A detailed transition plan was required, complete with milestone dates and task lists, all designed to avoid disruptions to business continuity. But what the contract avoids saying outright is what's plainly obvious: This plan definitively phases out American workers in favor of a lower-cost, offshore workforce.
This wasn't a case of hiring extra help. It was a direct replacement strategy. Cognizant was required to observe how Prudential's in-house team handled the work, copy it, and then eventually take it over – permanently. The agreement mandated a phased approach so the transfer wouldn't appear sudden. But behind the corporate phrasing was the harsh reality: The American team had to teach the offshore team how to do their jobs before being let go.
American workers forced to hand over their jobs
The agreement also makes it clear that Prudential would manage the entire transition internally. The company appointed project leads and gave Cognizant open access to internal systems, documents and staff. These staff were expected to help onboard the new offshore teams. But the contract offered them no job protection, no bonus, no role in the future structure. Their job was to help with the transition … and then leave.
Foreign labor in, American labor out
From the very first deliverables listed, it's clear what this contract was meant to do. The top priority: "Set up an offshore development center," or ODC. That's a dedicated office or facility in another country, in India in this case, where a foreign team will take over work that was once done in the U.S. This ODC becomes the new home base for handling core operations.
Right after that came the requirement to build and carry out a "knowledge transition plan," which is the process of transferring everything the American workers knew to the new offshore team. These steps weren't optional, they were the foundation of the entire deal. The rest – maintenance, bug fixes, reporting and support – were tasks already being done by U.S. employees. Now, those responsibilities were being prepared for transfer abroad.
Engineered dependence on foreign labor
The contract also included a unique clause about "non-billable" consulting hours. For every dollar Prudential spent, it received free consulting hours from Cognizant. But here's the catch: Those hours were heavily weighted toward India-based services. Once Prudential spent over $1 million in a month, it earned up to 800 hours of free offshore consulting, far more than what it would get from U.S.-based support. That structure created a clear incentive: The more Prudential outsourced to India, the more "free" services it received. The longer it stayed with Cognizant's offshore model, the deeper its dependence became.
They even set up what's called a Center of Excellence, or CoE, a permanent team focused on building deep expertise around Prudential's systems. This team, made up mostly of Indian business analysts and engineers, was responsible for mastering the technology, guiding decisions and supporting long-term operations. Although the contract labeled this effort "non-billable," meaning Prudential didn't pay extra for it, the long-term effect was significant. It wasn't just about supporting the transition, it was about anchoring control overseas.
The transition team: Locked out for good
As part of the transition, Cognizant assigned two full-time managers: an account manager and a transition manager. These weren't back-office roles, they were embedded into Prudential's leadership chain, given the responsibility to oversee the transition and manage future staffing. They represented Cognizant's permanent leadership presence inside Prudential's operations.While Cognizant controls the operation, Prudential still directs staffing decisions, and there is a clause prohibiting Cognizant from rehiring former Prudential employees unless Prudential explicitly allows it. That means even if laid-off American workers wanted to come back through the vendor, they couldn't. Their exit is final and contractually reinforced.
That clause closed the door on U.S. workers returning under the new model, even if they were qualified. They had trained their replacements and that was the end of the road – for them.
The technology transfer and foreign control
Another section lays out the software licensing structure: Prudential granted Cognizant, including its India-based affiliates, full legal rights to use its proprietary software systems to perform services. That meant Indian offshore teams were authorized to access and operate systems containing personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive financial data tied to Prudential's American clients. Cognizant assumed liability for its offshore teams' use of the software, but the control and the data were now fully remote.
