Speaking on the layoffs, an Accenture spokesperson told the Irish Examiner, “We continue to focus on ensuring we have the right talent to serve our clients and run our business today and tomorrow. In March, we initiated a series of actions to streamline our operations, including the departure of around 2.5% of our current global workforce.

“We will be commencing a collective employee consultation for a proposed redundancy programme that is expected to affect around 890 people at Accenture in Ireland. We do not plan to comment further while the consultation process is ongoing.

The company has informed the Department of Enterprise and Minister Simon Coveney of its plans for collective redundancy, with Mr Coveney calling the cuts a "significant blow" to the workers involved and their families.

"Our state agencies will work with the company and the workers to assess openings elsewhere in the economy," Mr Coveney added. "It is important to note that the workers involved are from a highly skilled sector and are likely to be sought after elsewhere in the broader economy."

"There are also a range of Government supports available to anyone who is being made redundant, including assisting with appropriate training and development opportunities and income supports.”

Employing 6,500 people across Ireland, Accenture announced plans last year to cut 19,000 jobs worldwide, roughly 2.5% of its entire workforce.

However, the company's Irish operations have been significantly more impacted, with just under 20% of its workforce being cut across two rounds of layoffs.

Headquartered in Dublin, Accenture is one of the world's largest companies by employee count, with more than 720,000 workers globally. Operating across 49 countries, the company offers services across a range of industries including aerospace, healthcare, banking, insurance, energy and tech.

Following the announcement, Accenture said it was still "committed" to its Irish operations, adding, “Our business in Ireland continues to show strong performance and we remain focused on our strategy to be at the centre of our client's business and help them reinvent themselves to reach new levels of performance.  

"We continue to focus on ensuring we have the right talent to serve our clients, to invest in our people and recruit in critical skills areas. We remain firmly committed to our business in Ireland and will continue managing for the long term.”

In 2022, the firm posted a revenue of $61.6bn (€56bn), just a few months before plans to cut 19,000 jobs were announced - one of the largest round of dismissals to hit the global consultancy sector.

Working with a number of major tech giants, the size of the staff reduction reflects Accenture’s close ties to the reeling industry, with more than 3,000 tech jobs already lost in Ireland alone since the end of last year. In May, Meta announced a further 490 job cuts, bringing the total number of job losses across the company's Irish office to 900 since layoffs began in November. 

The latest cuts also follow a number of major layoffs across the Irish arm of giants including Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and Twitter, with Accenture's announcement dwarfing the job cuts of many of its tech peers. 

Like many of the world's leading tech companies, Accenture embarked on large hiring sprees during the pandemic in response to growing demand. As part of its expansion, the company announced plans in 2021 to create 500 Irish jobs over the next three years, the majority of which would be based in Cork and the wider Munster area.

In the past year, the company has hired almost 40,000 additional people only to later admit that it overestimated its annual revenue and growth forecast. 

In addition, growing uncertainty has seen a major correction in employee numbers as the consultancy sector continues to battle strong economic headwinds. Last month, the company missed market estimates for quarterly revenue, with "muted" revenue growth across the US and Western Europe.

Just three months after its announcement to cut 19,000 jobs, Accenture said it would double its AI staff to more than 80,000, with the company investing more than $3bn (€2.72bn) in its Data & AI division.