Faced with the dizzying rise of artificial intelligence, McKinsey, the consulting giant, finds itself at a major turning point in its history. After a decade of rapid expansion, with its workforce having exploded from 17,000 to nearly 45,000 employees between 2012 and 2022, the firm is embarking on a profound transformation. The growing power of AI is pushing the company to rethink its traditional recruitment patterns and to initiate a significant reduction in hiring, particularly in its support functions. A decision with heavy consequences for the labor market and the consulting sector. This movement reflects a dual reality: a consulting market confronted with a global economic slowdown, and a technological revolution disrupting classical professions through automation. This dynamic fits into a broader context where digital innovations demand a thorough overhaul of organizational models and strategic priorities.
McKinsey thus distinguishes itself by applying to its own teams a policy it constantly recommends to its clients: cost rationalization and staff adaptation facing technological challenges. Under the leadership of Bob Sternfels, global CEO, the firm is beginning to align itself with a new economic and technological reality, aiming to focus its key personnel on high value-added assignments, while progressively automating repetitive tasks. The technology teams, in particular, are affected by this transformation, with an announced elimination of about 200 positions, marking a clear shift in human resources management.
This evolution is not an isolated case. The slowdown in global demand for consulting services, exacerbated by economic uncertainties and the new caution of client companies, is accompanied by increased adoption of AI technologies capable of performing functions previously entrusted to humans. The path taken by McKinsey in 2025 raises an essential question about the future of skills and the balance between human strength and artificial intelligence in a sector historically centered on human expertise.
- 1 Digital transformation and impacts on hiring reductions at McKinsey
- 2 The labor market and hiring reductions: an effect amplified by artificial intelligence
- 3 How McKinsey applies its own methods to reduce its workforce?
- 4 Reduction in hiring and human challenges in the consulting sector
- 5 Support functions on the front line of automation
- 6 McKinsey and competition in the consulting market in the age of AI
- 7 Outlook and upcoming challenges in the consulting sector
Digital transformation and impacts on hiring reductions at McKinsey
Digital transformation represents one of the major pillars explaining McKinsey’s decision regarding the drastic drop in its recruitments. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the firm is making a profound technological shift, favoring the automation of numerous tasks previously performed by employees in support and administrative functions. This automation results in a natural reduction in the need for hiring in these segments.
Support functions, which constitute a significant portion of the workforce, are particularly affected. Nearly half of the group’s employees work in roles that do not have direct contact with clients, such as HR services, financial management, or logistics. These positions are now the most exposed to elimination or radical transformation due to AI’s ability to efficiently automate repetitive processes and manage large volumes of data.
This trend is not a simple temporary adjustment measure but fits into a long-term adaptation strategy. The firm seeks to reallocate its resources towards activities that directly generate value for its clients, favoring consultants engaged in the field and experts capable of driving their digital transformation. In this context, the reduction in hiring is accompanied by targeted recruitment of profiles with advanced technological skills, notably in data analysis and artificial intelligence, illustrating a complete shift in the nature of sought-after talents.
A concrete example of this transformation is the reduction of 200 positions in McKinsey’s technical teams. These cuts underline the firm’s refocus on strategic tasks where AI is a lever of innovation, while internalizing fewer repetitive operations. This trend reveals a digital paradigm shift where flexibility and productivity become priorities, to the detriment of traditional staff numbers.
This repositioning illustrates another phenomenon: in a market where competition intensifies and budgets tighten, McKinsey must optimize its costs without compromising its strategic positioning. Automating back-office tasks not only saves money but also gains speed and efficiency, offering a competitive advantage in a digitalized environment. The challenge is therefore significant: to reconcile a deep technological transformation with the protection of key human know-how in the sector.
The labor market and hiring reductions: an effect amplified by artificial intelligence
The marked slowdown in global economic growth since 2023 has weighed heavily on the labor market, with a notable impact on hiring in sectors like consulting. By adopting a hiring reduction policy, McKinsey reflects a broader trend where caution prevails in the face of economic uncertainty. However, this phenomenon proves much more complex when intertwined with technological growth, notably that of artificial intelligence.
Advances in AI now allow the automation of various functions historically reserved for humans, ranging from data analysis to report writing, including customer relationship management and administrative processes. This growing automation changes the very nature of demand in the labor market, reducing the need for hiring in roles deemed “routine.” This leads to a restructuring of workforce and skills, more oriented towards strategic and creative roles.
In the consulting sector, increased use of AI tools to optimize internal processes generates a contraction in the number of administrative and technical positions, often considered redundant in this new digital context. McKinsey is not alone in this approach: competing firms such as Deloitte and EY have also implemented similar adjustments, reflecting a collective repositioning of the sector around technology.
A synthetic table of these evolutions highlights the correlation between the rise of artificial intelligence, the reduction of hiring in certain roles, and the increase in specialized profiles:
| Element | Before the rise of AI (up to 2022) | Impact in 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total workforce at McKinsey | ≈ 45,000 employees | ≈ 40,000 employees, gradually declining |
| Proportion of support functions | About 50%, sustained hiring | Sharp decline in hiring, position eliminations |
| Demand for technological and AI profiles | Moderate growth | Targeted increase in recruitments and training |
| Client budget for consulting | Strategic investment phase post-pandemic | Tightening and increased caution |
The employment landscape in the consulting sector is thus disrupted. The central profiles are no longer just traditional business experts but hybrid talents, combining sectoral mastery and advanced digital skills. This evolution confronts market players with the need to rethink their HR strategies and training programs.
How McKinsey applies its own methods to reduce its workforce?
Ironically, McKinsey follows a path the firm regularly recommends to its clients: cost rationalization through workforce reductions. This approach, more than symbolic, is an example of strategic coherence and pragmatic adaptation to technological and economic upheavals.
Rather than waiting for a crisis, McKinsey is undertaking proactive reorganization, focused on a fine analysis of roles and performance. The first cuts target positions without direct client contact, including a potential elimination of one tenth of the workforce in several departments. This measure, which could affect several thousand employees worldwide, will be spread over a period of 18 to 24 months to minimize organizational shock.
In practice, this rationalization does not forbid recruitment: operational consultants remain highly sought after, notably for assignments requiring a high degree of human expertise and strategic innovation. The transition therefore favors redeployment of resources rather than simple mechanical downsizing. This approach illustrates a willingness to preserve service quality while improving financial and operational agility.
CEO Bob Sternfels has already prepared managers and leaders for upcoming changes, emphasizing that this transformation responds to long-term preparation challenges, directly linked to progress in artificial intelligence. According to him, digitalizing support functions and leveraging employees on high value-added tasks are imperatives to remain competitive.
Thus, McKinsey positions itself as an adaptation laboratory where consulting practices integrate into internal reality, confronting theory with concrete implementation. This model could inspire other large companies facing the same challenges, attesting that digital transformations should not remain mere recommendations but materialize within the organization itself.
Reduction in hiring and human challenges in the consulting sector
The drop in recruitments at McKinsey naturally raises fundamental human questions. While technological growth offers notable efficiency gains, it also puts pressure on employees’ careers and professional paths, mainly in support and administrative functions. The digital transformation therefore results in a dual phenomenon: task automation and necessary skills evolution.
The consulting sector cannot detach itself from these human implications. A major challenge consists of supporting employees towards roles where creativity, complex analytical capacity, and strategic support are predominant. Continuing training, reskilling, and acquiring digital skills programs become crucial.
McKinsey, for its part, implements support mechanisms to limit negative social impacts. The goal is to avoid a simple pure and hard job cuts effect in favor of a transition to higher value-added functions. This policy includes initiatives aimed at strengthening AI know-how, project management skills, and digital customer relations.
Resistance to technological changes is another unavoidable human aspect. More experienced employees, sometimes less familiar with digital tools, may find adapting difficult. Management is thus called upon to show diplomacy and empathy to integrate this transformation without social fracture. Social dialogue and transparent exchange become key levers.
Finally, the question of professional identity arises sharply. The traditional role of the consultant evolves to fit into a hybrid ecosystem where human and machine coexist. This new paradigm requires a redefinition of missions, as well as a new way to value skills and talents, balancing technological innovation and human expertise.
Support functions on the front line of automation
In the relationship between McKinsey and the rise of artificial intelligence, support functions play a central role as they are the first affected by hiring reductions. These departments, essential to daily operations, will be deeply transformed.
Historically, services such as human resources, accounting, logistics, and administrative management represent about 50% of the firm’s workforce. These positions, often characterized by repetitive tasks, are now the most exposed to automation through AI and associated technologies.
This automation is carried out by tools capable of processing large amounts of data, managing administrative processes without human intervention, or automatically responding to internal requests. For example, AI software can manage payroll, resource planning, or performance analysis with unmatched precision and speed.
Given this reality, McKinsey envisions a reduction of up to 10% in these functions. While this proportion may seem moderate, the absolute volume represents several thousand jobs eliminated or transformed. The sensitivity of this approach is high because it affects both internal stability and the overall atmosphere within the company.
Furthermore, this automation creates opportunities. Employees freed from routine tasks can be redeployed to more qualitative missions related to technological innovation, change management, or customer relations. However, this shift requires significant training efforts and revised talent management policies.
Ultimately, managing support functions in the face of technological growth illustrates a major organizational challenge, positioning McKinsey as a pioneering actor. The capacity to combine cost reduction, human support, and digital evolution will be decisive to ensure sustainability and competitiveness in the coming years.
McKinsey and competition in the consulting market in the age of AI
The consulting market, particularly competitive, is undergoing a real mutation under the combined effect of artificial intelligence and macroeconomic constraints. McKinsey, as a historic leader, faces a dual necessity: adapting to technological progress while meeting the changing expectations of its clients.
For several years, the firm has experienced rapid growth, driven by sustained demand for strategic advice, digital transformation, and technological development. However, the caution of client companies, which tend to limit their consulting budgets in an uncertain economic context, forces a rethink of economic models and offered services.
This restructuring is expressed through intensified internal innovation, notably in developing artificial intelligence tools to improve diagnostics, optimize strategies, and accelerate decision-making. McKinsey thus invests in proprietary solutions aimed at automating part of the analysis and reporting work, reducing reliance on large volumes of consultants for these tasks.
Competition also plays out in brand image and the ability to embody innovative expertise. Offering a combined response blending high-level human consulting and technological support becomes a key success factor. In this context, the reduction of hiring in non-strategic teams is offset by more selective recruitments, more focused on AI-related skills.
Finally, McKinsey must manage the challenge of leveraging its current workforce to accelerate skills development, while maintaining a relationship of trust with its clients. The delicate balance between cost reduction, service quality, and technological innovation now dictates the competitive dynamics in this rapidly transforming market.
The strategic advantages of AI integration
- Productivity gain: reduction of analysis and recommendation drafting times.
- Automation of internal processes: reduction of operational costs.
- Enhancement of service quality thanks to better use of client data.
- Development of new service offerings centered on digital transformation.
- Organizational flexibility: rapid adaptation to market changes.
Outlook and upcoming challenges in the consulting sector
By 2025 and beyond, the consulting sector will have to continue navigating an environment marked by the growing power of artificial intelligence technologies and by global economic fluctuations. McKinsey, like other major players, will have to deploy an agile strategy combining technological innovation, talent development, and management of human transformations.
The challenges to be met are numerous. On the technological front, it will be necessary to continue integrating AI tools into daily practices while preserving the added value of personalized consulting. At the same time, adapting skills will be crucial to ensure team relevance amid constantly evolving demand.
From a social perspective, companies like McKinsey will cross a decisive stage by implementing proactive support policies for employees affected by job cuts, promoting training, retraining, and internal mobility. These measures will help limit negative impacts while consolidating internal cohesion.
Finally, the consulting economic model should be redefined around the balance between digital innovation and human consulting, offering integrated services capable of meeting clients’ complex needs in a constantly changing world. This strategic repositioning will be at the heart of future successes, mixing technological requirements and growing expectations regarding efficiency and value creation.
