Accenture Layoffs: Accenture to cut 19,000 jobs, trims forecasts

NEW DELHI: IT services firm Accenture Plc on Thursday said it would cut about 19,000 jobs and lowered its annual revenue and profit projections as mass firings at top tech companies continue worldwide.
“Streamlining operations expected to result in the departure of approximately 19,000 people over the next 18 months. Expect over half of the departures will consist of people in non-billable corporate functions,” the company said, sending its shares up more than 4% before the bell.

“We are also taking steps to lower our costs in the fiscal year 2024 and beyond while continuing to invest in our business and our people to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead,” Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, said in a statement.
The company forecast current-quarter revenue in the range of $16.1 billion and $16.7 billion. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $16.64 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Accenture now expects annual revenue growth to be between 8% and 10% compared to the previous projection of 8% to 11% increase.
A string of tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter and Meta were already in the grasp of this layoff wave. On Thursday, Accenture became the latest firm to join the list of IT giants to opt for job cuts.

The announcement comes just days after Amazon said that it is laying off 9,000 more employees in the next few weeks, mostly in AWS, advertising and Twitch. The global e-commerce giant had already laid off nearly 18,000 employees.

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms also said that it was cutting down 10,000 jobs this year, following the first mass layoff in the fall, which eliminated more than 11,000 jobs.
The job cuts started in 2022 and accelerated across much of the technology world. The tech industry is slashing jobs at a pace nearing the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.