Accenture to lay off 19,000 employees

Accenture, a Dublin-headquartered management and technology consulting firm, on Thursday said it will cut 19,000 jobs over the next 18 months.

The cuts represent 2.5% of the company’s global 738,000 employees, of which approximately 40% are located in India.

“These actions are expected to impact roughly 2.5% or 19,000 of our current workforce, of which over half are non-billable corporate functions and include over 800 of our leaders across our markets and services. Nearly half of the 19,000 people will depart by the end of fiscal year 23," CFO KC McClure told analysts during the Thursday earnings call.

Accenture reported sales of $15.9 billion in Q2 23, representing 5% growth. Managed services had the top growth rate, with 12%, while consulting contracted by 1%. Job cuts are expected to focus on the consulting division.

Accenture announced record new bookings in the second quarter, at $22.1 billion.

The consulting firm is now projecting annual revenue growth of between 8% and 10%, down from a previous estimate of between 8% and 11%.

The layoff announcement arrives after heavy expansion in 2022. Accenture bought approximately two-dozen companies in the last 12 months and grew its headcount by 39,000 employees. Its major US acquisitions included Blackcomb Consultants, The Beacon Group, and Inspirage.

Accenture joins numerous other large technology firms and consultancies that are slashing jobs amid lower demand and more difficult economic conditions.

KPMG in February announced its was cutting 2% of its workforce (700 employees), with the cuts hitting its advisory business. Bloomberg in February reported McKinsey is planning to lay off approximately 2,000 employees.

Tech giants have announced significant layoffs this year following hiring sprees amid pandemic-driven demand spikes. Amazon is cutting 27,000 jobs, Microsoft is laying off 10,000 people, and Google is laying off 12,000.