Investors are always fond of cost-cutting, and a recent stock jump for consulting firm Accenture is a great example. After announcing it would cut 19,000 jobs on Thursday, the company saw its shares rise more than 8 percent at one point.
Accenture has hired more than 39,000 new employees in the past year, but the challenging economy forced the company to rethink its strategy. It will now part ways with around 2.5 percent of its workforce in an attempt to cut costs and have a leaner organization.
The Dublin, Ireland-headquartered firm, which employs 738,000 workers globally, plans to complete the layoffs in the next 18 months. It expects to spend $1.2 billion on severance packages while also investing an additional $300 million in efforts to consolidate its office space.
Accenture isn’t the only consulting company that has been cutting jobs lately. Rival firms McKinsey and KPMG have also trimmed their workforce and froze new hiring at the moment.
After the news about layoffs made the headlines, Accenture saw its shares jump from a $253.05 close on Wednesday to a $273.51 peak on Thursday morning. The stock has settled at $272.00 by the end of the day, coming close to even on its year-to-date value.