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Accenture to cut 1,400 jobs
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June 7, 2001: 4:13 p.m. ET
Consulting company blames slow economy, low employee attrition rates
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Consulting firm Accenture plans to cut nearly 2 percent of its workforce worldwide because of the slow economy and the company's lowest attrition rate in years.
Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, said Thursday it will cut about 1,400 jobs, 800 through a "voluntary sabbatical" program and 600 through job elimination.
The sabbatical option will be available to senior-manager level consultants for 6-12 months with 20 percent of their salary and continuation of benefits. Employees choosing this option will also be eligible for options in Accenture's upcoming initial public offering.
The company, which currently has more than 75,000 employees, said in April it did not expect any layoffs ahead of the IPO.
"While we had hoped to avoid making any workforce reductions, even temporary ones, the current economic climate and our lower-than-usual attrition levels have created a modest imbalance between the demand for our services and our current staffing levels," Accenture CEO Joe W. Forehand said in a statement.
Forehand said the company expects to have a net increase of at least 9,000 employees before the end of the year as Accenture's European-based business increases. 
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Accenture
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