I'm not an employee, but I do have some experience in slowing down situations many of you are facing at FIS. Please consider passing the following petition around and send it to leadership.
Petition Regarding Outsourcing and reading.Risks at FIS
Purpose
This petition is submitted by concerned employees to request a pause and reassessment of the current plan to transition internal roles to Cognizant through a rebadging arrangement. The intent is to highlight significant operational, financial, and strategic risks that have not been adequately addressed and that may materially impact FIS’s long‑term stability, service quality, and shareholder value.
- Operational Risk and Service Continuity
Critical knowledge concentration
Many of the impacted employees hold deep, specialized knowledge of FIS platforms, legacy systems, client configurations, and regulatory requirements. This knowledge is not easily transferable, and in many cases is undocumented or context‑dependent.
Vendor turnover risk
Cognizant’s staffing model relies heavily on offshore labor and short‑tenure project rotations. This creates:
- Higher turnover rates
- Frequent handoffs
- Loss of continuity
- Increased onboarding and retraining cycles
These factors directly increase the likelihood of service disruptions.
Client‑facing exposure
FIS operates in a highly regulated financial environment. Any instability in support, development, or incident response increases:
- SLA breach risk
- Regulatory exposure
- Client dissatisfaction and churn
The outsourcing model introduces new layers of dependency that may not meet the responsiveness or expertise levels clients expect.
- Loss of Institutional Knowledge
Irreplaceable expertise
Many employees being rebadged have:
- 10–25+ years of experience
- Historical knowledge of system evolution
- Deep familiarity with client‑specific customizations
- Understanding of undocumented edge cases
Once transferred, this knowledge becomes fragmented or lost entirely if employees decline the offer or leave shortly after rebadging.
Knowledge drain after Year 1
Industry data shows that vendors often replace rebadged employees with lower‑cost offshore labor after the initial transition period. This creates a delayed but severe knowledge collapse that companies often underestimate.
Impact on innovation and modernization
Institutional knowledge is not just about maintenance—it is the foundation for:
- Modernization initiatives
- Technical debt reduction
- Platform stability
- Long‑term product strategy
Losing this expertise weakens FIS’s ability to innovate and remain competitive.
- Morale, Retention, and Cultural Stability
Morale decline
The rebadging announcement has already created:
- Anxiety
- Distrust
- Reduced engagement
- Increased attrition risk
Employees who remain at FIS are questioning long‑term stability and career prospects.
Retention risk among critical staff
Even employees not directly impacted may begin seeking external opportunities due to:
- Fear of future outsourcing
- Loss of confidence in leadership
- Perceived devaluation of internal talent
This creates a cascading retention problem that extends far beyond the rebadged group.
Brand and talent pipeline damage
FIS’s ability to attract and retain top technical talent is directly tied to its reputation as a stable employer. Large‑scale outsourcing erodes that reputation and makes future hiring more difficult and more expensive.
- Strategic and Shareholder Risk
Vendor dependency
Over‑reliance on a single vendor increases:
- Cost escalation risk
- Contractual lock‑in
- Reduced internal capability to evaluate vendor performance
- Vulnerability during renegotiations
Acquisition optics
While outsourcing may temporarily improve short‑term financial metrics, it can also:
- Signal instability
- Reduce internal capability
- Increase integration risk for potential buyers
This may harm long‑term valuation rather than improve it.
Long‑term cost vs. short‑term savings
Historical data across industries shows that outsourcing often:
- Reduces costs in the first 12–24 months
- Increases costs in years 3–5 due to vendor rate increases, turnover, and quality issues
Shareholders deserve transparency on these long‑term impacts.
Requested Actions
We respectfully request that FIS leadership:
- Pause the current rebadging process pending a full operational risk assessment.
- Provide a detailed impact analysis covering service continuity, client risk, and long‑term cost projections.
- Engage employees in a structured consultation process to identify alternative cost‑saving measures that preserve institutional knowledge.
- Commit to transparent communication regarding future outsourcing plans and workforce strategy.
- Evaluate hybrid models that retain critical internal expertise while leveraging vendor support where appropriate.
Closing Statement
We submit this petition in good faith, with the shared goal of protecting FIS’s operational integrity, client trust, and long‑term competitiveness. The employees who built and maintain these systems are not obstacles to efficiency—they are the foundation of FIS’s success. Decisions that affect the company’s future should fully account for the risks outlined above.