Hundreds of Australian jobs are at risk as major consultancy firm slashes five per cent of its global workforce after COVID-19 pandemic
Many Australians are set to lose their jobs as a popular consulting company slashes five per cent of their global workforce due to the effects of COVID-19.
Accenture employs more than 500,000 people globally and about 5,000 people in Australia - 180 of them who will be made redundant locally.
The company could let go 25,000 employees around the world, mainly targeting the bottom five per cent of based on their performance, achievements and skills.
This means up to 250 could be at risk in Australia.
Accenture employs more than 500,000 people globally and about 5,000 people in Australia - 180 of them who will be made redundant locally (pictured, its Sydney office)
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet addressed the job cuts saying the company's growth fell to 1.3 per cent when the pandemic hit after reporting eight per cent in February
Managers have been tasked with ranking their employees based on their performance to decide who to let go.
But two Accenture Australia executives accused managers of placing high performers in the bottom category just to meet the quota, Australian Financial Review reported.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet addressed the job cuts, saying the company's growth fell to 1.3 per cent when the pandemic hit after reporting eight per cent in February.
'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,' she said.
'This year, in addition to the normal 5 per cent, we've identified more people who need improvement...So we're making sure...if we have to make other actions, we know where our performance is.'
Ms Sweet also disclosed that paying clients had dropped below 90 per cent for the first time in a decade.
Two Accenture Australia executives accused managers of placing high performers in the bottom category just to meet the quota
The cuts come less than a year after Bob Easton, who led Accenture across Australia and New Zealand, who stood down from his role after the company missed sales targets.
Mr Easton will continue to be the chairman across Australia and New Zealand but had angered staff when he did not address the job cuts.
'We've reintroduced some really strong discipline and rigour around our performance achievement and the talent rotation that we do on an annual basis,' he said.
He said Accenture was focusing on reshaping the company in times of uncertainty and to ensure it continues to meet targets.