Ashish Ranjan
Accenture To Cut 19,000 Jobs: Accenture Plc lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts and announced on Thursday that it would reduce its workforce by approximately 2.5%, the latest indication that the deteriorating global economic outlook was reducing corporate spending on IT services.
Accenture stated that more than half of the 19,000 positions to be eliminated will be in non-billable corporate functions, causing its shares to increase by more than 4% before the opening bell.Since late last year, the tech industry has laid off hundreds of thousands of employees due to a decline in demand brought on by rising inflation and interest rates.
Last month, competitor Cognizant Technology Solutions forecasted “muted” growth in bookings, or the transactions IT services firms have in the pipeline, in 2022 and quarterly revenue below expectations.IBM Corp. and India’s leading IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services have also reported weakness in Europe, where the Ukraine conflict has impacted client expenditure.
Accenture now anticipates annual revenue growth between 8% and 10%, down from its previous estimate of 8% to 11%. The anticipated range for earnings per share is $10.84 to $11.06 compared to $11.20 to $11.52 previously.”Companies remain focused on executing compressed transformations,” CEO Julie Sweet said in a post-earnings call, referring to businesses’ efforts to become efficient in a volatile economy.
A survey of more than 1,000 IT decision-makers conducted by Enterprise Technology Research in the United States revealed that they intend to reduce their budget growth in 2023. The projected growth rate has decreased to 3.4% from 5.6% in October 2022.
Also Read | Vijay Mallya had enough money to pay back loan,but chose to flee: CBI
Our forward-looking data on technology expenditure intentions for both IT Consulting and Outsourced IT are approaching zero! stated the technology market research firm’s principal engagement strategist, Erik Bradley.
