# donnellan-ai-kodak-moment-consultants-2025-10-24

## Veille

AI Poses a Kodak Moment for Global Management Consultants - Reuters Breakingviews - Aimee Donnellan

## Titre Article

AI sets up Kodak moment for global consultants

## Date

2025-10-24

## URL

https://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/ai-sets-up-kodak-moment-global-consultants-2025-10-24/

## Keywords

AI, Artificial Intelligence, management consulting, Accenture, digital transformation, disruption, machine learning, consulting, automation, IT services firms, Deloitte, IBM, cost reduction, restructuring, stock valuation

## Authors

Aimee Donnellan, Reuters Breakingviews

## Ton

**Profile:** Financial analysis-opinion | Financial media institutional | Analytical-provocative | Expert

Reuters Breakingviews adopts a voice of incisive financial commentary applying the "Kodak moment" metaphor to the consulting industry. The historical analogy (Kodak's disruption) dramatizes the impact of AI. Business-analytical language (valuation, restructuring, automation) targets the financial community. Critical analytical tone, typical of Breakingviews commentary that challenges conventional wisdom. The thesis-driven argumentative structure positions the consulting industry against an existential challenge. Typical of financial opinion journalism (FT Lex, WSJ Heard style) offering contrarian perspectives grounded in financial analysis, aimed at investors, executives, and observers of sectoral power dynamics.

## Pense-betes

- Consulting industry: $1 trillion threatened by AI
- Accenture valued at $155 billion, shares down 30% over 2 years
- Accenture cut 11,000 positions through AI (September 2025)
- Illustrative example: $1M project in-house → $200K with consultant → $10K with AI
- US government cancels multi-billion-dollar contracts with major firms
- Salesforce laid off 4,000 customer support employees, Microsoft freezes consulting hiring
- Kodak: from $30 billion (1990s) to $500 million today after bankruptcy
- Accenture restructuring: $865M over 6 months for AI and digital services
- March 2025: 10 major firms (Deloitte, Accenture, Booz Allen, IBM, Guidehouse) targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency
- Strategic options: acquisitions of AI players (e.g. EXL, $6 billion) or mergers
- Clients can now accomplish work in-house at drastically reduced costs

## RésuméDe400mots

The management consulting industry, valued at $1 trillion, faces its own Kodak moment—the kind of technological disruption that precipitated the photography giant's 2012 bankruptcy. Firms like Accenture ($155 billion) have thrived by offering IT, cybersecurity, and offshore call-center services at rates below companies' internal costs. Artificial intelligence is upending this economic dynamic.

The current situation is proving particularly difficult for consultants. The pandemic, inflation, and economic uncertainty have pushed their large clients to cut spending drastically. The US government, one of the biggest clients, is cancelling multi-billion-dollar contracts. In March 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency targeted ten major firms—Deloitte, Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM, Guidehouse—to justify their fees. As a result, shares of sector leaders have fallen by as much as 30% over two years, while the S&P 500 climbed 50%.

Paradoxically, AI offers immediate advantages to consultants. In September 2025, Accenture announced it had cut 11,000 positions through automation, with further layoffs planned for staff who cannot be retrained. Salesforce eliminated 4,000 customer support employees. Microsoft froze hiring in its consulting division.

Unfortunately for the industry, large clients are discovering these same advantages. A British chief financial officer illustrates the problem: a project costing $1 million in-house could be outsourced to Accenture for $200,000. With machine learning, companies are now accomplishing the same work for just $10,000. This cost reduction gives clients considerable leverage: if consultants refuse to align their prices, the client will find a cheaper competitor or simply bring the task in-house.

Facing this precipice, firms are weighing several strategies. They could acquire specialized AI players like EXL ($6 billion), which helps the financial and healthcare sectors with their AI transformations, thereby accelerating project execution. Alternatively, mergers between major firms appear possible.

These options, however, have limits. Merger synergies would be minimal since firms generate revenue by deploying their top talent on major projects—consolidation would risk a massive exodus of talent.

None of these strategies will stop clients from demanding drastically reduced prices. Kodak survived its 2012 bankruptcy, re-emerging as a diminished company valued at $500 million—far from the $30 billion of its 1990s peak. Consultants risk a similar devaluation of their industry.

On September 25, 2025, Accenture unveiled an $865 million restructuring over six months to realign its workforce toward growing demand for digital and AI services—a sign that adaptation is already underway, but under extreme pressure.

## GrapheDeConnaissance

- Aimee Donnellan —publie→ AI sets up Kodak moment for global consultants (DOCUMENT, 0.99)
- IA —concurrence→ industrie du conseil en management (CONCEPT, 0.97)
- Accenture —mesure→ 11 000 postes supprimés grâce à l'IA (MESURE, 0.98)
- Accenture —publie→ restructuration de 865 millions $ (EVENEMENT, 0.98)
- Department of Government Efficiency —s_oppose_à→ Accenture (ORGANISATION, 0.95)
- Department of Government Efficiency —s_oppose_à→ Deloitte (ORGANISATION, 0.95)
- Department of Government Efficiency —s_oppose_à→ IBM (ORGANISATION, 0.95)
- machine learning —réduit→ coûts de conseil (CONCEPT, 0.96)
- Salesforce —réduit→ 4 000 postes de support client (CONCEPT, 0.97)
- Microsoft —réduit→ embauches division consulting (CONCEPT, 0.95)
- Kodak —est_instance_de→ disruption technologique fatale (CONCEPT, 0.93)
- industrie du conseil en management —mesure→ 1 000 milliards de dollars (MESURE, 0.97)
- EXL —est_instance_de→ cible d'acquisition stratégique (CONCEPT, 0.88)

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Canonical: https://www.thekb.eu/en/fiches/donnellan-ai-kodak-moment-consultants-2025-10-24/