Tech Consultancy Giant Accenture Plans To Retrench 19,000 People

Tech consultancy giant Accenture announced today plans to retrench 19,000 people, or 2.5% of its workforce, as part of its actions to streamline operations and transform non-billable corporate functions to reduce costs.

The retrenchments will be undertaken in the next 18 months, the tech giant informed investors in an SEC filing.

Accenture added that it hire  consultants to meet current and projected future demand.

“We proactively plan and manage the size and composition of our workforce and take actions as needed to address changes in the anticipated demand for our services and solutions, given that compensation costs are the most significant portion of our operating expenses,” stated the tech consultancy firm.

“Our workforce, the majority of which serves our clients, increased to approximately 738,000 as of February 28, 2023, compared to approximately 699,000 as of February 28, 2022. The year-over-year increase in our workforce reflects demand for our services and solutions, as well as people added in connection with acquisitions.

“While we continue to hire, especially to support our strategic growth priorities, during the second quarter of fiscal 2023, we initiated actions to streamline our operations and transform our non-billable corporate functions to reduce costs.,” said Accenture.

The company added that over the next 18 months, these actions are expected to result in the departure of approximately 19,000 people (or 2.5% of current workforce).

“We expect over half of these departures will consist of people in our non-billable corporate functions.”