Accenture announces plans to cut 19,000 jobs

March 23 (UPI) -- Tech services company Accenture said Thursday it plans to cut 19,000 jobs worldwide after lower annual revenue and profit forecasts.

The cutbacks will cost the Irish-American company $1.2 billion in severance over the next 18 months. More than half of the roles that are cut will be among back-office staff.

It also plans to spend another $300 million to consolidate its office space.

Accenture, which currently has 738,000 employees globally, said that it expects annual revenue growth for the 2023 fiscal year to be between 8% to 10%, down from 8% to 11%.

"There continues to be significant economic and geopolitical uncertainty in many markets around the world, which has impacted and may continue to impact our business, particularly with regard to wage inflation and volatility in foreign currency exchange rates," Accenture said, according to TechCrunch. "In some cases, these conditions have slowed the pace and level of client spending."

CNN Business reported that thousands of workers in the tech industry have been laid off in recent months as higher interest rates, inflation and recession fears have led to a pullback in advertising and consumer spending.