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Accenture India Employees Likely To Be Impacted By Global Layoff Plan

Accenture employs 5.3 lakh people, about two lakh of whom are in India.

A sign outside Accenture Ltd. offices. (Photographer: Dennis Brack/ Bloomberg)
A sign outside Accenture Ltd. offices. (Photographer: Dennis Brack/ Bloomberg)

Accenture Plc is looking to reduce its global workforce by at least 5%, putting at risk thousands of jobs, including those in India, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The multinational tech consultancy employs 5.3 lakh people, about two lakh of whom are in India.

In a statement emailed to the Press Trust of India on Wednesday, Accenture said it was not planning “extraordinary global workforce actions” at this time. The statement was in response to a query about its layoff plans, including for India.

“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 about 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 said in the statement.

In India, Accenture said, it continues “to hire, and as part of our ongoing compensation programs, we also recently recognised a number of our people with bonuses and promotions”.

The company will continue managing its business for the long term, and critical to this is ensuring it has the right people with the right skills to best serve its clients, the statement read.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, in an internal staff meeting, said that in a normal year, the company transitions out about 5% and hire to replace them because of 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...,” Sweet said. “This year, in addition to the normal 5%, we have ve identified more people who need improvement...,”