Consulting’s AI shock
AI is eroding consulting firms’ information edge—McKinsey/BCG headcounts are being pared as clients demand faster, AI‑first deliverables and ready‑made pyramid memos and strategy decks []. Free case packs and prompt libraries are proliferating, changing the unit economics of traditional project work and outsourcing tactical analysis to cheaper, automated workflows.
Bloomberg reported) that McKinsey is drawing up plans that could cut “thousands” of roles over the next 18–24 months, and people familiar told reporters the reductions would focus on non‑client‑facing functions. McKinsey cut) about 200 global tech jobs in late November 2025 as it accelerates AI integration, according to the Economic Times and follow‑up reporting. Bloomberg’s reporting put the firm’s headcount peak and scale in context — McKinsey rose from roughly 17,000 employees in 2012 to as high as 45,000, and has since fallen to about 40,000 while firmwide revenue has hovered near $15–$16 billion.(bloomberg.com) The Financial Times reported) that top consultancies have frozen starting salaries for new hires for a third consecutive year, with Management Consulted listing undergraduate packages around $135k–$140k and MBA offers near $270k–$285k for 2026 cohorts.(managementconsulted.com) Open prompt and case libraries are proliferating: a public GitHub “Useful AI Prompts” repo hosts about 488 production‑ready prompts,(github.com) CasePrepared published a 100‑prompt consulting pack,(caseprepared.com) and Management Consulted maintains a 600+ case library — all of which lower the cost of producing finished decks and memos.(managementconsulted.com) Partners and knowledge leaders are formalizing prompt/RAG playbooks inside firms, according to a November 2025 playbook for partners that prescribes secure prompt libraries and evaluation rubrics,(builtbyrose.co) while practitioners point to AI unit‑economics frameworks that tie model bills to outcomes (for example, a cited example of 10,000 tickets generating a $47,000 LLM bill).(cloudgov.ai) Academic and industry surveys show many cuts are anticipatory: an HBR survey of 1,006 global executives in December 2025 found AI cited as a driver behind recent layoffs,(hbr.org) and PwC’s 2026 predictions urge firms to convert AI productivity into disciplined pricing and productized services.(pwc.com)
