It’s historic: for the first time in its history, Accenture Technology Solutions (ATS), one of the two French branches of the American digital transformation consulting giant, will experience a strike on Thursday October 5, reveals The gallery.
At the invitation of two of the company’s four unions – the first two, CFE-CGC and the CGT – its approximately 2,000 employees, out of the approximately 10,000 that the group has in France, are invited to join the strike pickets for one hour, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., in front of the Nantes Technology Services Center, which concentrates most of the company’s small hands, that is to say the developers or testers who carry out digital transformation projects sold by consultants. Employees working remotely and based in Paris, Angers, Brest or Toulouse are invited to declare themselves and walk out remotely.
The object of their wrath: the salary policy deemed “ unworthy and disrespectful » of the group, according to Alexandre Bugeaud, CFE-CGC union representative. Even before the end of the obligatory annual negotiations, scheduled for October 3, management sent a refusal to the unions.
“ Despite inflation forecast at 5% this year and 6% last year, management is closing the door to any general salary increase for 2024. We have no room to negotiate anything. », denounces Younes Zoerkani, central union delegate of the CGT.
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Management justified itself to staff representatives by a lack of macroeconomic visibility for the year 2024. However, the 2023 results will mark a new record for the company with 733,000 employees spread across 120 countries. During the third quarter of 2023 – corresponding to the fourth quarter of its fiscal year – the company generated global turnover of 16 billion dollars (15.15 billion euros), an increase of 4% on a year-on-year basis. year. Europe accounts for a third of these revenues, with growth of 10% over one year.
Remarkable results of continuity: turnover for the 2023 fiscal year amounts to 64.1 billion dollars (60.7 billion euros), up 4% over one year, and more than 20% compared to fiscal year 2021. The only downside is that the operating margin fell from 15.2% to 13.7% in 2023, but it remains largely positive. During the presentation of the annual results at the end of September, Julie Sweet, the global CEO of Accenture, said: extremely proud » of a “ another strong year of financial performance “. The company claims more than 9,000 customers worldwide, including “ 106 customers worth more than $100 million in orders, and a record 300 Diamond customers in 2023, our largest relationships », specified Julie Sweet.
This drop in profits, constant since the start of the year and mainly due to activity restructuring costs, has already served as a pretext for a social plan announced at the end of March 2023. After recruiting more than 30,000 people last year, Accenture let 19,000 go this year, or 2% of the workforce. The French branch was very little affected: only 5 positions affected at Accenture Technology Solutions, and around 200 for Accenture SAS – the other branch of Accenture France -, according to the unions.
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The unions experience the refusal of a general increase in wages as a slap in the face. “ The displayed meritocracy is not respected », deplores Younes Zoerkani, of the CGT, whose union left the negotiating table on September 14.
He pursues : ” The budget for individual bonuses far exceeds the increase and promotion budget for all Accenture Technology Services employees. And the bonuses for top management and employees who are already the best paid are substantial, while the company refuses to move a finger for those who suffer the most from inflation “.
Unions denounce below-market salaries at Accenture Technology Services, particularly among developers and testers. “ The average rate of increase among competitors is 4.5% and the IT sector is very tight with many unfilled jobs. Do they want to push us to leave? » asks Alexandre Bugeaud, from CFE-CGC.
For the moment, management is not citing artificial intelligence as a possible threat to employment, while the ChatGPT revolution is likely to impact many professions, particularly in the consulting sector, which accounts for more than half of Accenture’s revenue. Some companies, like the French branch of the American Onclusive, which operates in the field of media relations consulting, have already started to replace employees with generative artificial intelligence – capable of creating texts, images and videos. But Accenture wants to be reassuring. “ Customer orders for generative AI total $300 million over the last six months, putting us at the heart of the start of AI-powered reinvention “, boasts the world boss, Julie Sweet.
