Accenture holds back promotions globally after no salary hikes in India for fiscal year 2023

Slowdown impact: Accenture Plc has planned to defer promotions for its maximum staff by six months, moving the promotion schedule from December to June. 

As per reports, Accenture Plc is mulling to delay the bulk of its staff promotions by six months. 

In its latest statement, Accenture Plc said, "We are permanently changing our primary promotion date from December to June, which is when we have better visibility of our clients’ planning and demand.”

In an internal blog post last week, the Dublin based technology giant has informed its employees that it will announce most promotions in June and not in the usual month of December.

The company also reportedly deferred promotions for its senior management until June 2024.

Last year, the company skipped salary increments entirely with a few exceptions. “Given the context of our performance, we will not be providing any stay-atlevel (base pay) increases this year [2023] except where legally mandated or committed in a few critical skill areas,” the company said.

Other consulting firms, including McKinsey & Co., Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers have also adopted a similar strategy as they deal with the slowdown.

Despite a recent surge in demand for AI and automation-related projects, it has not proved to taper the overall economic pressures

The new promotion schedule aligns better with the firm's visibility into client strategies and demand levels, which are typically clearer by mid-year, said a company spokesperson.

After the news of delayed promotions, Accenture’s stock recorded almost 5 per cent decline on Tuesday, which dragged it into negative territory for the year. The reaction from investors seemingly reacted to the broader concerns affecting the consultancy industry. This sector has seen  spending cuts by corporate clients increasingly.