New Delhi, Aug 26: IT major Accenture is all set to fire 5% of its workforce globally, which means that around 10,000 employees in India will lose their jobs due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Accenture is likely to ask several thousands of employees to go after the conclusion of the appraisal cycle that is underway.
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports that Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, in an internal staff meeting streamed online in mid-August revealed that 5% of their global workforce can be asked to leave the company.
“In a normal year, we transition out about 5% and we hire to replace them because we are in a demand scenario. Right now, we're not in a demand scenario, so if we manage out the same percentage of people and don't replace them, it allows us to continue to invest and preserve some people who have lower chargeability for when the market comes back." AFR said Accenture is looking to cut at least 5% of its global workforce.
To be noted, Accenture has 5 lakh employees globally and if 5% of the employees are fired, around 25,000 employees will be asked to leave. Out of 5 lakh, 2 lakh Accenture employees are in India. Hence, once 5% is applied to India, then 10,000 employees will face termination in India.
In July, Bloomberg reported that Accenture was cutting up to 900 jobs or 8% of its UK workforce. AFR said, “with about 5,000 staff employed by Accenture locally (Australia), the redundancy numbers would be about 250, but it is understood to currently sit around 180.”
Speaking on the possible layoffs in India and which employees will be targeted, a spokesperson in an emailed statement told TOI: “Every year, as part of our performance process, we have conversations with our people about how they are performing, areas for improvement, their potential to progress, and whether they are a long-term fit for Accenture. This year, across all parts of our business and all career levels, we will identify approximately 5% of our people as our lowest performers, and these individuals will transition out of Accenture. This is consistent with our actions each year.”
Accenture asks, on an average, 5% of its employees every year to leave, based on performances. However, unlike every year, they won’t hire more employees, since demand is low.
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