The morality of being a consultant is getting harder. Hearing client after client openly seeking massive layoffs to improve company bottom line is disheartening. With AI, it’s more common and open than it has ever been. And even harder knowing that I’m an expert helping them do that. I LOVE the problem solving and navigating complex situations with good teams, but I struggle with people being the problem or barrier- to be removed. Feels so heartless. Are we cooked as a society?

I’m dealing with massive layoff and could soon be impacted. I thought I could fall back into consultant and Accenture was a top choice as I worked with them before. How’s the job market and finding a job…

Yes, we are cooked as a society as very few people in the business world are like you and have a conscience. I am someone who was laid off more than once, so I applaud you for thinking of the human lives effected by your work.

My advice is that your problem solving skills and navigating complex situations are transferrable skills and you could move into many other roles and jobs where those very same skills you have could be used to make the world a better place.

Think about jobs such as climate change, medical industries, even diplomacy and government where your work can be part of helping society.

If you continue in the work you are in, at the end of your life will you look back at your career and be proud?

I don't know if you have any children, but someday you might, and would your children be proud of you?

In my career I have resigned from more than one job that did not sit right with my values and took jobs that did. I still achieved financial security and I no longer spend all day Sunday dreading Monday. When I am old I will have peace of mind for doing the right thing.

I wish you the best.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Hard relate to this…feeling the same way

We all need to change because of AI but we are cooked more because of excessive compensation for partners rather than AI.

Thank you for posting this OP - this makes me very grateful that my niche doesn't involve recommending or affecting layoffs (I'm usually recommending adding headcount). I'm really sorry you deal with this; it would make me reluctant to continue in my current job also.

Can't speak for everyone but accenture is definitely cooked

The C Suite from my clients state they prefer to have their resources learning and reskilling during their AI transformation journey more competitive and capture more market while giving back precious time to their employees, In the end the company vision and attitude towards their employees will become will become the differentiator for markets and employees alike and doing the right thing will pay off while companies that take the wrong lane will eventually fail and go bankrupt,

Most of what we do is to eliminate jobs or at least “move them”

I can’t think of a single consulting project I’ve been in where the end goal wasn’t some form of cost savings. Else its staff aug.

Let’s be honest. You are here to make money. None of us hat you have listed is new. Open or not, consulting companies have recommended layoffs since their existence. Either via introducing a new automation or by brute force RIF. So I find it incredibly disingenuous if you realized this with AI. And ignore companies that literally caused opioid crisis, introduced exorbitant exec payouts, “advised” to brutal regimes- and now morality hit you? Ok. I don’t mean to be rude, but you joined consulting to make money and I cannot believe that you did it because you were oblivious of the decades

Good news for you, the “morality” is coming to bite you in the behind with AI. As it is now impacting consulting - so keep you save it for now.

What you’re describing feels like a real tension in consulting right now.

A lot of these decisions aren’t framed internally as “removing people,” but as optimization under pressure: efficiency, cost, survival, especially as AI makes everything more measurable and faster to act on.

But what’s actually happening is a growing distance between the decision logic and the human impact. The more abstract the system becomes (models, metrics, AI-driven analysis), the easier it is for the human cost to sit downstream from the decision itself.

Consultants often end up sitting right in that gap, close enough to see the human consequences, but still operating inside the logic that produced them. That’s where the friction shows up.

I don’t think that’s best understood as a moral failure. It’s more a structural one: harm becomes easier to rationalize when it’s mediated through systems that turn people into variables.

The discomfort you’re describing makes sense in that context. It’s not detachment. It’s proximity to something the system has already abstracted.

The C-suite leaders of Fortune 100 clients I work with are clear in that companies must reskill their workforce during their AI transformation to stay competitive, capture more market, and give back precious time to employees to spend with their families. In the end, a company’s vision and its attitude toward its people will be the ultimate differentiator—for both markets and talent. Doing the right thing will pay off; those who choose the wrong path will fall behind and ultimately fail.

I’m a fan of Dave Ramsey’s “hierarchy of sacrifice” to layoffs, which only happens when company revenue is stressed, never to expand the bottom line profit.

1) Owner cuts all dividends and salaries to $0.
2) Executives take a significant reduction in pay and bonuses.
3) Cut all non-essential expenses (perks and benefits).
4) Ask employees to work an extra mile or re-skill to help the company recover.
5) Spend down cash reserves to buy time for the company.
6) Begin to furlough employees, as needed.
7) Begin layoffs.

Yes, we are, unfortunately.

This is very true and the irony like someone else said is that one day, without knowing it unfortunately, you’ll be digging your own grave because they’ll figure out how to circumvent your position as well.

If you don’t believe capitalism is the best way to lift up everyone, taking any job is immoral. Plus your problem solving skills and data analysis are demonstrably inadequate.

Been cooked. The worst part is we know that soon they’ll use that very same reason to replace us

If you focus on indirect cost optimization you can instead take food off the plates of Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, Broadcom, IBM, etc., which should make anyone feel good about the work they are doing.

Fork found in kitchen?

Was just thinking about this as well 😩