Image: © Tobias Arhelger/Stock.adobe.com
Accenture is headquartered in Ireland where it employs more than 6,500 people. It is not yet known how the global announcement will affect Irish staff.
IT services and consulting company Accenture has said it plans to cut around 2.5pc of its total workforce, which could result in around 19,000 job losses.
Accenture announced it was cutting a percentage of jobs as it envisions a more modest economic forecast.
The company said today (23 March) that the job cuts are part of a series of cost-saving measures it is taking during the second fiscal quarter of this year.
It has also trimmed its annual revenue growth expectations, with the updated targets estimating growth of between 8pc and 10pc compared to its previous projections of growth between 8pc and 11pc.
Its statement said that hiring would not stop completely despite the planned job cuts to certain areas.
“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,” it stated.
“Over the next 18 months, these actions are expected to result in the departure of approximately 19,000 people (or 2.5pc of our current workforce), and we expect over half of these departures will consist of people in our non-billable corporate functions.“
Globally, the Dublin-headquartered company serves clients in some 120 countries, providing them with digital, cloud and security services. Its workforce currently stands at more than 738,000 people.
More than 6,500 of these are based in Ireland, where the company has had a presence for several decades. It is not yet known whether any Irish employees will be affected by these job cuts.
Accenture has its flagship R&D and global innovation centre, The Dock, based in Ireland. It also has a corporate services hub that deals with internal operations globally.
Last year, Accenture Ireland announced a changeover in its leadership in Ireland. It appointed Hilary O’Meara to take over from former country managing director, Alastair Blair.
At the time, Accenture said O’Meara was to take over the role in early 2023.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
Updated, 1.45pm, 23 March 2023: This article was amended to include more accurate information on the number of people Accenture employs in Ireland.
