BCG’s Chief Executive Officer, Christoph Schweizer, revealed that the firm's current hiring plans will bring BCG’s total headcount to about 34,000.
However, the increase in recruitment comes in spite of revenue growth of just 5% in 2023—the lowest level in three years.
Equally, the addition of 2,000 employees is five times fewer than in 2022, when the consulting industry experienced a post-pandemic boom.
Still, its hiring increase suggests a continued demand for its advisory services, an apparent contrast with the other Big Three firms, McKinsey & Company and Bain, & Company which have slashed hundreds of employees and also frozen consultant salaries.
The trend has been ongoing since last year, which saw other top MBA employers, such as Deloitte, defer the start date of new recruits until 2024.
The second half of 2023 also saw mass pay cuts for staff members across firms such as EY and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
BCG says a significant portion of its hires this year will consist of tech experts. As of now, its generative AI unit, BCGX, consists of over 3,000 employees.
The focus on artificial intelligence stems from the fact that one-fifth of the company’s revenue came from AI-related work last year, with the company planning to double this in 2024.
