Accenture CEO Julie Sweet struck an optimistic tone in response to the Trump administration’s newly announced $100,000 H-1B visa fee, signaling the consulting giant has little to worry about. She downplayed the impact of the policy, emphasizing that the change poses no significant threat to the company’s operations or its global workforce strategy.
Sweet reinforced her stance during the company’s earnings call Thursday, following its fourth-quarter results announcement. “This is really a non-issue because we only have about 5% of our people in the U.S. on H-1B visas, and they’re for really specialized experience and skills for our clients,” she said, underscoring that Accenture’s dependence on the program is too limited to be rattled by the steep fee hike.
The Dublin-headquartered firm’s minimal use of H-1B visas sets it apart from many rivals that lean heavily on the program to bring in specialized talent from overseas. Accenture received authorization for 1,568 H-1B workers in the first six months of the year, ranking it within the top 25 U.S. companies utilizing the visa program, according to U.S. immigration data.
The executive order signed by President Trump on September 19 introduced the steep, one-time visa fee as part of a wider immigration overhaul, sparking unease across the tech industry. For many companies, the measure undercuts the cost-efficiency they’ve long associated with global hiring. Sweet, however, cast the shift in a different light, positioning it less as a setback and more as an opening for Accenture’s business strategy. “Every time there’s a big policy change, unfolded over decades, it has usually driven more business for the company,” Sweet stated.
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The remarks come at a time when Accenture has trimmed its global workforce by more than 11,000 employees over the past three months.
Accenture explained that the recent job cuts targeted roles that could not be retrained for artificial intelligence, part of its broader push to realign talent for the AI-driven future. While more than 11,000 positions were eliminated in the past three months, the firm signaled plans to grow its overall headcount in the upcoming fiscal year.
During the earnings call, Sweet acknowledged the shift, noting the company has been “exiting” employees who cannot be retrained in artificial intelligence skills, even as it prepares to increase headcount in the next fiscal year. “We are exiting on a compressed timeline, people where reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need,” Sweet told analysts.
As of the end of August, Accenture’s global workforce totaled 779,000, down from 791,000 three months earlier. The current round of layoffs, which began earlier this year, is expected to continue through November 2025. The restructuring, largely focused on severance and workforce realignment, is projected to save the company over $1 billion.
Accenture CFO Angie Park noted that the company plans to sell off two of its acquisitions as part of a strategy the firm describes as “rapid talent rotation.” “These actions will result in cost savings which will be reinvested in our people and our business,” Park said, emphasizing that the moves are intended to strengthen both the workforce and the company’s operations.
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Accenture’s measured stance on the new H-1B fee appears closely aligned with its broader workforce strategy. As framed, the hike as a manageable cost applicable mainly to highly specialized talent, the company agrees with it as an allowance for top-tier skills rather than a barrier. This fits neatly with Accenture’s push to expand its AI capabilities: since 2023, the firm has doubled its AI and data specialist headcount to 77,000 and trained more than 550,000 employees in generative AI, underscoring its commitment to building a future-ready workforce.
“Advanced AI is becoming a part of everything we do,” Sweet said, quoted by TOI, adding that the company views AI not as “deflationary” but “expansionary.”
Accenture posted robust fourth-quarter results, reporting revenue of $17.6 billion, surpassing analysts’ consensus estimate of $17.36 billion. Alongside the earnings, the company announced an $865 million restructuring initiative aimed at reshaping its workforce to meet growing demand in digital and AI services.
The company has significantly scaled back its reliance on H-1B visas over the years, with initial approvals declining from 3,442 in 2015 to just 190 in the first nine months of 2025. Its workforce restructuring reflects a broader trend among major tech firms, including Meta and Microsoft, which are trimming traditional roles while aggressively expanding AI-focused hiring.