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Why Accenture Is Laying Off 19,000 Employees: 5 Things To Know
Mark Haranas
‘Over the next 18 months, these actions are expected to result in the departure of approximately 19,000 people (or 2.5 percent of our current workforce), and we expect over half of these departures will consist of people in our non-billable corporate functions,’ Accenture said.
Accenture will lay off 19,000 employees over the next 18 months in one of the $62 billion IT giant’s largest layoff rounds in its history.
Accenture has hired thousands over the past 12 months and acquired about two-dozen companies.
“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 in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Over the next 18 months, these actions are expected to result in the departure of approximately 19,000 people (or 2.5 percent of our current workforce), and we expect over half of these departures will consist of people in our non-billable corporate functions,” Accenture wrote.
[Related: Amazon’s AWS Layoffs: 5 Things To Know About ‘Devastating’ Cuts]
Accenture Reports Earnings
News of the layoffs come as the IT juggernaut released the financial results of its second fiscal quarter of 2023 today.
The Dublin-based IT services and consultancy superstar generated sales of $15.8 billion, representing 5 percent growth year over year. This was led by a 12 percent growth rate in its managed services sales that helped offset a 1 percent decline in consulting revenue. New bookings for the quarter were a record $22.1 billion.
“Our record bookings reflect the confidence and trust that our clients have in us to create value and help them transform at speed,” said Accenture CEO Julie Sweet during the company’s financial earnings report today. “We are also taking steps to lower our costs in fiscal year 2024 and beyond while continuing to invest in our business and our people to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead.”
With positive revenue growth and record bookings, the question arises of why exactly Accenture is terminating approximately 2.5 percent of its global workforce.
CRN breaks down five reasons why Accenture is likely terminating 19,000 of its global employees.
