Will Accenture layoff 336 executives in 2009?

Accenture, a business consulting and outsourcing company is likely to lay off around 336 senior-level managers as part of a broad-based restructuring effort. William Green, CEO, Accenture said, "We are taking this step to position Accenture better for both short-term and long-term economic improvement growth and profitability."

The company has about 177,000 employees globally, of which 4,800 are senior-executive employees. The lay off is likely to be completed by the end of November 2009. The company said that the reductions would cost about $247 million in the fourth quarter, which ends on August 31. Out of $247 million, about $128 million of the charge is for severance and related costs of workforce reductions at the senior executive level and $119 million linked to reduction of excess office space. The company said that the space reductions would be completed by the end of August, while the job cuts are expected to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

According to a projection by Goldman Sachs Group, global technology spending will decline by eight percent this year. Accenture said that it continued to expect net revenues for the fourth quarter in the range of $5 billion to $5.2 billion with operating margins between 13.4 percent and 13.7 percent. But the company also added that the restructuring charges will likely reduce its earnings per share for both the fourth quarter and the full year by 24 cents.

The company had generated net revenue of $23.39 billion for the fiscal ended August 31, 2008. In the last one year, the stock of Accenture has climbed by 11 percent on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Agencies

Has AIG bonus outrage gives employees a fear?

The bonuses paid to AIG executives have turned pillars of a Connecticut community into pariahs and have workers fearing for their safety.

An executive who feared retribution and spoke Friday on condition of anonymity says AIG workers in ritzy Fairfield County are ``very, very nervous'' about security.

AIG's financial products division is in nearby Wilton. Corporate officials have told employees to avoid sporting the company logo and to travel in pairs at night.

Activists plan to visit the homes of AIG executives Saturday in an attempt to deliver letters highlighting the economic problems of ordinary Americans.

Security companies say the financial crisis is creating brisk business in everything from bomb-sniffing dogs to bodyguards.

Agencies