80% drop in consulting vacancies amid hiring freeze 🥶

McKinsey pays staff to leave | DEI consultants forced to pivot | McKinsey memo revealed

Exec Sum

• Consultants see 80% drop in vacancies amid hiring freeze

• McKinsey offers managers pay and coaching to leave

• DEI consultants forced to pivot amongst collapse in demand

• McKinsey memo signals internal discontent and sector challenges

• McKinsey Report: GenAI the next S-curve for semi-conductors

👀 What to expect: ~900 words / 5 min read

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Industry News

The Headlines 📈

Consultants see 80% drop in vacancies amid hiring freeze

The consulting industry faces a potential wave of job reductions following a massive slowdown in hiring - UK consultancy job vacancies have plummeted by over 80% in 2023, even as the sector sees revenue growth, with the Big Four seeing a 60% drop in vacancies. Deloitte's recent strategic overhaul aims has sparked unrest among employees with this backdrop. Read more.

McKinsey offers managers pay and coaching to leave

McKinsey & Co. is offering managers in its UK and US offices up to 9 months of pay and access to career-coaching services to encourage voluntary departure, as reported by The Times. This move comes as part of McKinsey's efforts to manage its workforce proactively amidst a consulting industry slowdown. Read more.

McKinsey memo signals broader sector challenges

An anonymous memo from alleged former McKinsey partners has surfaced, criticising the firm's focus and warning of its potential decline, in the latest sign of discontent at the industry’s flagship firm. Its contents reference ‘unchecked and unmanaged growth’ and suggests a crucial pivot point for the industry as it navigates shifting market dynamics and internal challenges. Read more.

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The News 📰

DEI Consultants forced to pivot amongst backlash - Facing backlash and a crowded marketplace, DEI consultants are facing the prospect of adjusting to an up to 90% decrease in DEI-related expenditure. Their safe haven - focusing services towards driving improved business outcomes. Read more.

Companies seek help to tackle workplace neurodiversity - As awareness and diagnoses of neurodiversity increase, employers are navigating the complex legal and practical challenges of accommodating neurodiverse employees' needs - Read more.

Bain survey reveals worsening Net Zero outlook - Around 62% of executives in the energy sector globally now expect the world to reach Net Zero no sooner than 2060, amongst concerns of the financial viability of the energy transition. Read more.

Consultancy pivots to art - Sommeta, formerly Samudio Consulting, extends its services to the art world, providing project management assistance to artists, galleries, museums, and art institutions, aiming to help underrepresented artists expand their reach. Read more

Best of the rest: EY drops appeal against sanctions over Wirecard, KPMG UK elects Jon Holt CEO for second term , Accenture cuts revenue forecasts.

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Report Review 📖

Generative AI - The next S-curve for the semiconductor industry? - McKinsey

• Facing the semiconductor industry is a massive AI-driven demand surge that requires rapid innovation in chip design in order for supply to meet demand

• Forecast to rise from 0.2 FLOPs in 2024 to 25.0 FLOPs by 2030, GenAI demand will mostly be driven by consumer-facing applications, to the tune of 70% of the total

  

• This innovation will come from optimising software through new algorithm development and advancements in chip architectures to (2) increase memory density (2) improve network speed

• One of the key developments is that the underlying server architecture is likely to evolve to favour CPUs with AI accelerators, reflecting a shift towards specialised hardware to efficiently cater to workloads

• Manufacturers are making major capital investments in line with these GenAI-driven demand, although they face highly uncertain demand scenarios given the pace of the sector’s developments and must balance this with the servicing of their existing markets

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The Coffee Break ☕️

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That’s all folks. Don’t forget your timesheets.

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