Accenture slashing 19,000 jobs, streamlining operations

Accenture has announced deep job cuts as the consulting giant continues to navigate challenging economic conditions.

In a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 23, the professional services company said it plans to lay off around 19,000 employees, or 2.5 per cent of its workforce, over the next 18 months.

“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,” the company said in the SEC filing.

Accenture added that its operations have been affected by “macroeconomic conditions, the overall inflationary environment, and levels of business confidence.”

“There continues to be significant economic and geopolitical uncertainty in many markets around the world, which has impacted and may continue to impact our business, particularly with regard to wage inflation and volatility in foreign currency exchange rates. In some cases, these conditions have slowed the pace and level of client spending.”

As of February 28, 2023, Accenture claims that it employed a total workforce of approximately 738,000 people.

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Impact on Canadian staff

Accenture didn’t disclose how many Canadian employees are affected by the latest round of cuts.

The professional services company has offices in a number of major cities across the country, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.

According to LinkedIn, Accenture employs more than 6,700 people Canada.

Major layoffs continue

Accenture joins the growing list of major companies that have announced sweeping layoffs in 2023.

Several big names, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Dell, Clearco, Hootsuite, and Microsoft have laid off thousands of employees as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

SEE ALSO
• Salesforce cutting 10% of staff, hired ‘too many people’
• Employment lawyer on recent tech layoffs and severance
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination agreements for Accenture Canada employees

As part of the layoff announcement, Accenture said it expects to spend approximately $1.2 billion on severance and other personnel costs.

However, the company noted in the SEC filing that the “actual amount and timing of costs are dependent in part upon local country consultation processes and regulations and may differ from our current expectations and estimates.”

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Accenture are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance pay in a recession 

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.