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\t\t\tIllustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins \/ Futurism. Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
As we roll into October, we\u2019re just weeks away from the three year anniversary of the first smash hit AI chatbot model, OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT. With no sign of a slowdown on AI spending, one would expect us to be in the midst of an AI revolution, something to show for three years of unbridled tech investment.<\/p>\n
Yet when it comes to AI in the workplace, there are suspiciously few stories of companies successfully integrating the tech. There is, however, plenty of failure: the fintech firm Klarna took to forcing engineers to answer customer service calls after its AI deployment stalled out<\/a>, law firms are being punished for AI\u2019s embarrassing errors<\/a>, while other companies have resorted to hiring freelancers to fix AI\u2019s sloppy mistakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n That makes it all the more incredible to see that the multinational IT consulting firm Accenture has laid of some 11,000 employees<\/a> in recent months, driven by a massive bet that businesses will prioritize hiring AI experts from now on.<\/p>\n According to Reuters<\/a>, the cruel downsizing effort is part of a stupefying six-month restructuring plan which is estimated to cost the firm $865 million once all is said and done. In a recent earnings call<\/a>, Accenture\u2019s CEO Julie Sweet said the firm\u2019s number one priority is \u201cupskilling its reinventors,\u201d which is corporate-speak meaning it expects workers to have specific training in AI systems like large language models from now on.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are reinventing what we sell, how we deliver, how we partner and how we operate Accenture,\u201d Sweet said on the call. \u201cIn short, on-the-ground, advanced AI is becoming a part of everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a bog-standard statement<\/a> in today\u2019s day and age. But if Accenture workers fail to appease their overlords, the CEO says they\u2019ll be dumped like yesterday\u2019s trash. In their place, the IT firm will hire people who already have the AI \u201cskills\u201d necessary to appease stockholders. This includes tapping into an increasingly \u201cglobal\u201d workforce \u2014 a nice way to say<\/a> \u201coutsourcing jobs to underpaid gig workers in the global south.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur number-one strategy is upskilling, given the skills we need, and we\u2019ve had a lot of experience in upskilling,\u201d Sweet said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to, in a very compressed timeline \u2014 where we don\u2019t have a viable path for skilling \u2014 sort of exiting people so we can get more of the skills in we need.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about how this is all supposed to shake out financially after the dust settles, chief financial officer Angie Park told analysts she expects savings of over $1 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cThese actions will result in cost-savings, which will be reinvested in our people and our business,\u201d Park explained, adding that Accenture executives expect to increase their headcount in 2026, after they cull the herd of its non-AI trained staff.<\/p>\n Asked when AI would factor into her own company\u2019s gross margins<\/a> \u2014 a profitability measurement marking revenue minus direct expenses \u2014 the CEO was vague, remarking that AI was \u201cdriving efficiencies,\u201d implying that AI was somehow reducing expenses.<\/p>\n The next few months will tell whether the brutal layoffs end up improving margins to the tune of billions of dollars \u2014 but as the AI investment bubble continues to grow<\/a>, time is quickly running out.<\/p>\n