Accenture job cuts are in the news once more, and this time, there are conversations on reskilling occurring parallelly as we speak. During an earnings call on Thursday, Accenture acknowledged that it is “exiting” employees who cannot be retrained for artificial intelligence skills, according to Business Insider. The Accenture layoffs have defined its AI era, with sweeping cuts that have reportedly affected about 22,099 jobs in the last two quarters. As of August 2025, the company’s headcount stands at 779,000, a steep drop from the 801,099 reported in February.
While cuts are currently dominating the conversation, Accenture is also expected to hire for AI-literate roles in the next fiscal year. The importance of understanding and upskilling talent to keep up with technology is apparent in these trends.
Accenture’s job cuts are ongoing, with more layoffs expected among employees who can’t be reskilled to work alongside AI. (Image: Pexels)
Accenture Job Cuts Take the Reins as Reskilling Plans Determine Who Goes
Accenture’s staff cuts in 2025 are not surprising or out of the ordinary. Much like its competitors, the IT outsourcing firm has set its sights on the technology that’s altering how we operate today and reorganizing its forces to prepare for the changes that are to come.
The company has seen $615 million in restructuring changes over the last quarter, with the expense tied to the severance packages handed over to outgoing employees. The organization’s $865 million restructuring program has made it clear that another significant chunk of its workforce will join the ranks of those who have already been moved out of the organization earlier this year. Over 11,000 positions worldwide have been eliminated in the last three months alone.
The Accenture AI Reskill Cuts Set an Example for the Industry
The Accenture staff cuts in 2025 aren’t specifically tied to a strenuous time period or fiscal struggles at the organization. In fact, the company’s revenue has reportedly climbed this year by 7% YoY to $17.6 billion, crossing analyst expectations by a degree. Keeping with the times, Accenture is exploring an AI workforce shift to ensure its employees are able to serve its customers and meet the demands of the industry at large.
“Our No. 1 strategy is upskilling,” CEO Julie Sweet said in the conference call last week. “We are exiting on a compressed timeline, people where reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need.”
The company has invested heavily in expanding its AI resources, doubling the AI and data specialists on the payroll to 77,000 since its last fiscal quarter in 2023. Business Insider found that in addition to these hiring changes, it has also trained over 550,00 employees on the fundamentals of generative AI. The organization has a clear strategy for holding on to workers who can be reskilled in AI fields, eliminating those who cannot be retrained.
Accenture Set to Hire for AI Skills in the Coming Year
While the Accenture job cuts will be undoubtedly harsh on the employees who are asked to leave, there is no escaping the relevance of AI literacy in hiring today. While there is talent on the market, there is a dearth of workers with the specific degree of AI awareness that businesses are looking for. The company’s “rapid talent rotation” strategy offers organizations some perspective on the importance of pacing firing and hiring with the training of workers to meet the needs of the business.
Despite Accenture layoffs leading the conversation into the AI era, the company is not among the many businesses settling on a hiring freeze to conserve its resources. “These actions will result in cost savings which will be reinvested in our people and our business,” CFO Angie Park said during the earnings call. After the remaining job cuts at Accenture are completed for the year and some of its acquisitions are divested, the organization will take another look at hiring.
Could 2026 Be the Year of Reopening Doors for Job Seekers?
If 2025 has been the year of layoffs, there is considerable hope that 2026 will be the year of AI-centric hiring. Many jobs are expected to evolve to create room for artificial intelligence to hold space in the workforce, however, human labor is not becoming redundant just yet.
Employees who want to hold on to their employment and job seekers on the hunt for a suitable career move should keep their eyes on the evolution of AI and work to upskill and meet the needs of the industry.
For HR teams, 2026 will mark a busy year of training and reskilling workers. Keeping up with AI may be an arduous task for employees to prioritize along with their job duties, making it much easier for them if they get to adapt on the job. From Google to Amazon, AI-motivated firings have led the conversation in the tech industry, but the time for real change and collaboration is drawing closer.
What do you think about the Accenture job cuts and the ambitious plan to retrain its employees? Share your thoughts with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.