In a surprising shift, Accenture is tying senior employees’ promotions to their use of AI, signaling that those who fail to adapt could be left behind in the company’s AI-driven future.
According to the Financial Times, the company has notified associate directors and senior managers through an email that advancing to leadership positions will necessitate the 'consistent use' of AI tools. In other words, failing to utilize AI may hinder your chances of promotion.
Accenture has already layed off 11,000 employees, considering them unsuitable for 'reskilling' with AI. Over the last three years, the company has allocated $2 billion for severance packages. This isn't the first instance of a company signaling a strong push for employees to fully embrace AI.
In June 2025, Microsoft told employees that “using AI is no longer optional.” Microsoft executive Julia Liuson had informed managers to consider AI usage in performance evaluation. And Recently during the India AI Impact Summit, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet discussed the future of companies with AI. She said, “Companies must be willing to reinvent how they operate their processes, how they've been doing work for the last few decades. Companies have to invest to reshape their workforces.”
Accenture will reportedly track employees’ use of its AI tools, including log-ins to the AI Refinery platform, built with NVIDIA. CEO Julie Sweet says the platform helps companies reimagine operations. Staff in 12 European countries and divisions handling US government contracts are exempt, and it’s unclear if entry-level workers will face similar requirements.
Other tech companies have also been pushing for AI. A few weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly warned senior executives that they should consider leaving the company if they did not believe in its AI plans.Meta began tracking employee AI usage last October, and Google has followed suit, offering voluntary exits to staff not fully embracing AI. With over 100,000 IT layoffs across companies like Amazon, TCS, Infosys, and Accenture, the industry is betting on AI to boost productivity and expects employees to use it extensively.
