Thread regarding Accenture layoffs

@ay Send her and her Strategies back to communist Europe. How's that working for them and us now. And that AI Blather content can be created by ANY AI tool.

Let me take you through the IT sector and the ripples owing to layoffs.

Accenture has laid off 11,000 employees in just three months. The company says that this is part of a massive restructuring to prepare for an AI-driven future. Accenture CEO Julie calls upskilling the number one strategy for them.

Now, staff who can adapt to AI systems will be retained, but those who can’t are being let go. At the same time, Accenture also says that it will hire fresh talent with AI skills to fill that gap.

Layoffs come at a cost of 865 million dollars in severance packages, which they are now giving to the employees they’ve asked to leave. Accenture’s global workforce has now dropped from 7 lakh 91,000 to 7 lakh 79,000.

But this isn’t just about cuts. The company has already generated 2.66 billion dollars in AI consulting work in the last six months. It’s also planning rapid talent rotation and even divesting some acquisitions, with savings reinvested in people and new businesses.

So basically, they’re trying to buckle up and tighten harnesses on all corners so that they can move that money, make their talent more productive, and ensure more talent is brought in to boost Accenture’s output.

Now, India will feel the impact sharply. Nearly three lakh of Accenture’s staff are based in India, and this follows a similar move by TCS, which reportedly let go of up to 80,000 workers due to AI.

Now remember, TCS says that only 12,000 employees were let go, not 80,000. The 80,000 figure was basically a rumor that spread faster than TCS could clarify. The rumor went so viral that TCS is now trying to do damage control.

Experts warn that this is a larger trend across the 250 billion dollar IT sector. Routine coding, testing, and process jobs are all now being automated. AI is replacing human jobs. The only way forward now, they say, is reskilling.

Either employees reskill or upskill, or they’ll have to leave. Especially in the areas of AI, data, and cloud, employees must be fully aware of every detail. The message is clear: the future isn’t just about keeping jobs, but learning to work alongside machines.

Now let me bring in Gotham Kapoor, CEO of Cyberare 365, joining us. He has employees of his own to give us a sense of what this really means. Also with us is Sora Ry, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Neo Geo Info Technologies Limited.

Thanks very much. I’ll start with Gotham Kapoor. Gotham, your view on IT sector layoffs - Accenture, TCS - it’s a little alarming and a shocker for many in India. I mean, world over, but we are concerned for India. Three lakh Accenture employees are based in India, and they’re all worried for their future.

Would you tell us how easy it is to upskill? Is it really that easy to rewire yourself and hold on to your job? What’s to be done immediately? Your suggestion or advice to people watching?

Good evening and thank you for having me over. Listen, I know with the advent of AI, this is a mixed bag so to say. We’re going to see a lot of layoffs - as a matter of fact, we’re in the midst of many organizations announcing layoffs.

Like I said earlier, this is a mixed bag and folks need to upskill themselves. This is the perfect opportunity for people to learn more about AI technologies. Easier said than done - the world is rapidly changing and people are confused about what to do.

Not everyone can suddenly start learning software coding skills and such things, but still, with AI and the ecosystem changing rapidly, it’s important for people to understand what the technology is about, how mundane tasks can be replaced with AI, and how to oversee these processes.

That’s my perspective. We’ll see in the coming years that a whole new job ecosystem will be created even with the advent of AI.

Well, IT companies have been clear that they’re also hiring more people with AI skills. So while they’re letting people go, they’re also hiring. But where it hurts most is mid-level and senior-level managers, those in their 40s or 50s, who may not adapt to AI as quickly as younger workers. That’s where the real crisis lies.

I agree, and actually, it’s going to be the norm going forward. First, let me disclose that I’m an ex-Accenture employee. Accenture has some of the best training programs in the world - I’ve been part of them myself.

If Accenture cannot train 11,000 people and had to let them go due to lack of training or inability to reskill, that’s very alarming. It’s going to be challenging. If younger workers can’t adapt easily, it will be even tougher for older ones like me.

The good part is, in parallel, we’re seeing announcements of hiring more AI professionals. So somewhere it will balance out. Hopefully, this is an aberration and not the norm, for the larger benefit of the industry.

You disclosed where you worked. I just want to ask - how did you upskill? Did you go through a training program, or were you self-motivated to learn before the axe fell?

Most of it has been self-learning. I looked at my sector, trends, and the direction things were heading. It didn’t happen in a day. From understanding prompts to generative AI, to learning what LLMs are and what they can do - it’s been a gradual process.

Recently, I’ve been exploring low-code and no-code software in the LLM space. Once they mature, even AI specialists may become redundant in some ways. So, in tech, you always have to stay ahead of the curve.

AI, coding, and application areas all offer opportunities. It’s not all lost - maybe this is a wake-up call for AI professionals to look at possibilities, how AI will change their world, and how they can train and adapt.

Just like earlier evolutions - the internet, analytics, and now AI - we must stay ahead of the curve. Many training programs are available, created by organizations themselves. People just need to keep their eyes and ears open. Companies should groom talent early and give them a longer runway to learn the necessary skills.

Now, Jitin Jain joins us, Director of Voyager Infosc Private Limited. Why is it that companies are not able to identify employees who are incompatible with AI systems early on? AI isn’t brand new anymore, so why are they struggling to match hires with technology?

There are three points. First, these 11,000 people laid off - or as Accenture says, “exited” - are not AI professionals. They’re from various technology roles being replaced by AI systems.

Accenture is hiring more AI professionals, which means more firing will happen in coming years. But to your question - were they unaware when hiring these people? No, these employees were compatible when hired three, four, or five years ago. But technology has changed at such a rapid pace that many roles are now obsolete.

No-code technologies have replaced customer care, basic coding, and testing jobs. Entry-level roles are becoming extremely difficult to sustain.

This raises a bigger question - what about corporate responsibility? Are companies focused only on profit and shareholder value, with no social or ethical responsibility toward employees and their families?

Another key question - whose responsibility is reskilling? The employees? The companies? The government? It can’t be left only to companies. Accenture, one of the world’s biggest consulting firms, offers reskilling programs to clients - yet can’t retain and upskill its own employees. That’s a huge concern for the industry.

Technology is evolving so fast that companies like TCS and Infosys, doing large-scale outsourcing, will follow suit sooner or later.

We’re creating digital graduates in colleges, yet companies still have to retrain them for three months on joining. Either recognize they’re incompatible and train them, or don’t hire them. If they’ve already been with you five years, a crash course to upskill shouldn’t be difficult.

Final question, Gotham - you’re live from California and run your own company. How does the United States cope with this? Layoffs are global, not just in India.

I’ll say this candidly. The United States is facing the same challenges as India. People need to upskill, and companies need to train. Low-code and customer service jobs are going away.

But I’ll add one point - before AI, we had RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which also promised a revolution. It didn’t replace all jobs, but it created new ones. AI will do the same.

It’s not all doom and gloom. We won’t see 10 to 30 percent unemployment, but we’ll see new roles and opportunities. Both companies and individuals must take responsibility for upskilling.

So yes, the same challenges India faces, we’re facing in the US too.

Thank you very much. Maybe AI will even teach Donald Trump a lesson, since low-quality jobs will be replaced by highly skilled ones, while he wants to bring those jobs back to America. Inflation in the US is already high, and perhaps this will be a wake-up call.

Thank you very much, Jitin, Gotham, and Sarra, for joining us on that discussion.

@ay time to layoff all the unskilled labor hired on last year from TiAA. Clear out the de-ad wood

Julie successfully completed the AI Certification couple of hours ago, awaiting her bonus and promotion in November. Please send your accolades and appreciation for her stupendous hardwork, even when she was laying of the weeds (NON AI Trainable brains),until yesterday these weeds were $$$ growing plants.