The retrenchment – which comes after a “careful review” of business operations, the company indicated – also follows a string of job losses at rival consultancy firms as well as at technology giants, such as Meta and Microsoft, for which Accenture’s Irish operation provides outsourced services.The cutbacks are likely to include a number of senior management roles as Accenture moves to streamline its corporate functions worldwide.
Globally, the company said it expected to incur staff severance costs of $1.2 billion and a further $300 million in expenses from the “consolidation of office space”. Like the tech companies to which it supplies outsourced workers, Accenture had been on a hiring spree, buoyed by a surge in demand from tech clients since the pandemic. It has also made multiple acquisitions since 2020.
It is led here by country managing director Hilary O’Meara, who recently succeeded the retiring Alastair Blair in the role.