Global Outlook

 IT services firm Accenture lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, with announcing plans to lay off 2.5% of its workforce, or roughly 19,000 employees. Nearly half of the affected staff are expected to leave the company "by the end of fiscal year 23," Chief Financial Officer KC McClure told analysts during the earnings call. Accenture started taking a number of steps during the second quarter in order to reduce costs, including streamlining operations, consolidating office space, and transforming non-billable corporate functions. More than half of the recent layoffs are expected to affect staff at the non-billable corporate functions. During the second quarter, the company recorded $244 million in business optimization costs and is likely to record total costs of roughly $1.5 billion through fiscal 2024 as per estimates. It expects $300 million for office space consolidation and $1.2 billion for severance, with nearly $800 million estimated in fiscal 202...