Following 11,000 layoffs, Accenture warns that if you don’t use AI at work, you won’t be given a raise.

Artificial intelligence is transforming our workplace. Businesses also want you to join them. Promotions for senior staff will now be based on how much AI they use at work, according to an announcement from Accenture. Those who don’t use AI will be left behind, seems to be the plain message.  The corporation sent an email to senior managers and associate directors informing them that advancement to leadership positions would require “regular adoption” of AI tools, according to the Financial Times. That is, you will probably not be promoted if you don’t use AI.This occurs as Accenture is increasingly turning its attention to artificial intelligence. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet spoke at the India AI Impact Summit about the future of AI-powered businesses.

She said, “Companies must be willing to reinvent how they operate their processes, how they’ve been doing work for the last few decades. Companies have to invest to reshape their workforces. Accenture previously let go of 11,000 employees because it didn’t think AI could “reskill” them. In only the last three years, the business has spent $2 billion on severance benefits. This is not the first time a business has made it so obvious that it wants its workers to fully embrace AI.

Microsoft informed staff members in June 2025 that “using AI is no longer optional.” Julia Liuson, a Microsoft official, had advised employers to take AI use into account when assessing employee performance. According to reports, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella cautioned senior executives a few weeks ago that if they did not trust the company’s AI goals, they should think about leaving.

This suggests a change in the sector as businesses put more of an emphasis on using AI to increase productivity. In the last year, more than one lakh IT workers from firms like Amazon, TCS, Infosys, and Accenture have been let go. Businesses are placing bets that AI will enable them to reduce manpower while simultaneously increasing efficiency. Additionally, it appears that they want their staff to use AI as much as possible in order to ensure the success of their wager.  According to reports, the corporation will keep an eye on how its staff use its AI capabilities. Tracking log-ins to internal AI platforms, such the AI Refinery, will be part of this. Accenture will have a comprehensive understanding of who is utilizing AI in the workplace.

In order to establish a sovereign cloud service in India, Anant Raj Limited and Submer, a full-stack AI infrastructure provider, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to develop fully operational, AI-ready data centers throughout India. As the world talks about a sovereign tech stack, it has become increasingly important to have tech infrastructure that keeps a country’s data within borders. In other words, if data is the new oil, then homegrown clouds can be the banks that will ensure our data currency stays home.

During the India AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday, the two businesses signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In order to guarantee that data processing and storage stay inside national boundaries, New Delhi is stepping up its attempts to develop “sovereign AI” capabilities.

As per the deal, Anant Raj will employ Submer’s InferX “neocloud” platform and specialized liquid-cooling technologies to upgrade or construct facilities that can withstand the extreme heat produced by AI-focused GPUs.Anant Raj’s current IT campuses in Manesar and Panchkula, Haryana, will be the initiative’s primary focus at first. After switching from traditional real estate to digital infrastructure, the corporation has set a lofty goal to have 307 MW of data center capacity by the fiscal year 2032.

“Partnering with Submer and InferX to deliver sustainable AI data center and cloud services provides the solution to support our economic growth,” said Amit Sarin, Managing Director of Anant Raj Limited, noting the project aligns with federal “Digital India” and “Self-Reliant India” (Atmanirbhar Bharat) initiatives.

“India is at a pivotal moment in its digital transformation,” said Patrick Smets, CEO of Submer. “We bring high-performance AI compute online fast while significantly reducing environmental impact.”