Accenture might be looking to reduce its manpower in India in an effort to cut costs to counteract COVID-related financial shortfalls, various sources report. Out of its 5 lakh employees worldwide, 2 lakh are based in India, making the country home to Accenture’s single largest collection of manpower resources.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said, “In a normal year, we transition out about 5% and we hire to replace them, because we are in a demand scenario,” in a virtual staff meet. She went on to say, “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.” According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the company is looking to cut at least 5% of its global workforce.
If 5% is applied to India, it could affect 10,000 employees here. When the Times of India asked Accenture about it, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “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 approximately 5% of our people as our lowest performers, and these individuals will transition out of Accenture. This is consistent with our actions each year.”
The spokesperson also said, “We continue managing our business for the long-term and critical to this is ensuring we have the right people with the right skills to best serve our clients. In India, we continue to hire, and as part of our ongoing compensation programmes, we also recently recognised a number of our people with bonuses and promotions.”
According to a report by Global Consultants, India is set to lose at least 130 million jobs in the short-term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 40% of job losses so far can be attributed to agriculture, construction and other blue-collar fields, while the job loss in the IT sector seems to only be going up as the pandemic continues to ravage everything in its way.
