Deloitte Turns to AI to Mitigate Mass Layoffs Amid Hiring Spree

Consulting giant Deloitte is leveraging artificial intelligence to address the challenge of staff layoffs, despite hiring thousands of new graduates to meet increased demand. The company is utilizing AI to assess the skills of its existing employees and develop strategies for redeploying them to more high-demand roles, part of a broader initiative aimed at moderating its hiring growth over time. This move comes after Deloitte added 130,000 employees this year, yet still had to notify thousands in the US and UK of potential job redundancies due to business restructuring prompted by a demand slowdown.

Deloitte LLP is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to assess the skills of its existing employees and create plans to reposition them into roles that align with current market demands. The company is making this strategic move to avoid large-scale layoffs, even as it grapples with the necessity of dismissing hundreds of employees following substantial graduate recruitment efforts. By optimizing its workforce through AI-driven skill assessments and redeployments, Deloitte aims to strike a balance between demand and staffing levels.

Stevan Rolls, Global Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte, emphasized the firm’s commitment to efficiency and effectiveness in talent management, stating, “It is a great objective to be able to avoid large swings of hirings and layoffs. You could always be more efficient and effective about finding the right people.”

AI streamlining repetitive tasks

Deloitte, along with its professional services counterparts, has already begun exploring the use of generative artificial intelligence to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks previously handled by junior staff members. These tasks include activities like preparing documents for internal meetings and collecting extensive data for client pitches. Generative AI, a technology popularized by ChatGPT, can generate coherent responses and content based on its training on vast volumes of existing materials.

The latest initiatives aim to leverage AI technology not only for task automation but also for enhanced workforce management as they continue to onboard thousands of employees annually. This approach comes as Deloitte’s global headcount approaches 460,000 after a significant hiring spree earlier this year, a threefold increase compared to a decade ago, when revenue levels were substantially lower.

Balancing growth and hiring challenges

With its expansive growth, Deloitte recognizes the need to balance expansion with the practicality of recruiting and integrating a massive number of employees each year. Stevan Rolls commented on this issue, stating, “Let’s imagine Deloitte was so successful and we doubled our size again, I’d be really worried about hiring a quarter of a million people a year. It might not be fewer, but it might be the same as we hire now.”

By harnessing AI to evaluate existing employee skills and strategically reassign them to high-demand roles, Deloitte aims to streamline its hiring processes and achieve a more agile and adaptable workforce without the need for massive layoffs.

Deloitte’s adoption of artificial intelligence to manage workforce fluctuations amidst a substantial hiring drive underscores the consulting giant’s commitment to optimizing its staffing strategy. By using AI to identify skill sets and match them with current market demands, Deloitte hopes to strike a balance between growth and staffing efficiency. This approach may serve as a model for other large organizations seeking to manage their workforce more effectively in a rapidly changing business landscape. With AI-driven workforce optimization, Deloitte aims to remain agile and resilient, ensuring its continued success in the professional services industry.