Information technology major, Accenture, has decided to lay off five per cent of its workforce, which means, around 10,000 employees in India. Globally, the move will render around 25,000 employees jobless.
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) has reported that during an internal team meeting in mid-August, Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture, had revealed that five per cent of its global workforce may be asked to leave the Company.
The layoff process will be carried out post the appraisal cycle, which is still in progress. Employees with the worst performance score will be the ones who will be asked to leave.
Accenture has five lakh employees globally, of which two two lakh are based in India.
On an average, every year, the IT major asks about five per cent of its employees to leave, based on performances. However, unlike the usual practice, the Company will not hire more employees, since demand is low.
To manage expenses, Accenture has already reduced travel budgets, removed contractors, put a halt to subcontractor jobs where needed and also paused hiring. While this move was expected by many, the huge number of approx. 25,000 job cuts was certainly not expected.
Amidst the layoffs, the Company’s merger and acquisitions activities have not been paused. Even during the crisis, Accenture has continued to invest and has been acquiring companies. Recently, it completed its 20th acquisition for 2020.
