‘Painful Decision’: Slalom Consulting Layoffs Hit 900 Workers

‘After extensively exploring and debating every option possible with our senior leaders, executive committee, and board of directors on how to best position our company during this time of significant shifts within our industry and to plan for the future, we have made the painful decision to restructure Slalom. This will result in approximately 7% of our team members leaving the company,’ wrote Slalom CEO Brad Jackson in a LinkedIn post.

Seattle-based IT consultant Slalom Consulting this week started the process of laying off about 7 percent of the company’s 13,000 worldwide employees.

Slalom CEO Brad Jackson, in a Wednesday LinkedIn post, that the company has to restructure to meet the challenges of the future.

“After extensively exploring and debating every option possible with our senior leaders, executive committee, and board of directors on how to best position our company during this time of significant shifts within our industry and to plan for the future, we have made the painful decision to restructure Slalom,” Jackson wrote. “This will result in approximately 7% of our team members leaving the company.”

[Related: The 10 Biggest Tech Company Layoffs Of 2023 (So Far)]

Slalom offers expertise in cloud architecture, DevOps and security, product engineering, customer relationship management, user experience and user interface design, data architecture, AI and machine learning, and data visualization. The company partners with the likes of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Snowflake, Salesforce and Microsoft, among others.

Jackson wrote that every company has its moments of challenge, growth, and transitions.

“Since our early days, I have mostly shared good news,” he wrote. “Today is different. It is a day I thought would never come and one I hope will never occur again.”

Seven percent of 13,000 employees means layoffs will amount to just over 900 employees. Jackson did not say where among the company’s 35 U.S. and 15 international offices the tech layoffs will occur.

Slalom, ranked no. 27 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 list, responded to a CRN request for more information by referring CRN to Jackson’s LinkedIn post.

The Slalom layoffs seemed to be widespread, according to posts on LinkedIn.

A data engineering consultant in Slalom’s Austin, Texas office, wrote on LinkedIn that Friday will be his last day with the company, and that he is grateful for his time there.

“Slalom has has (sic) helped me expand my capabilities in data engineering, participating in exciting projects with the likes of Meta, AMD, and Securian. My time at Slalom also enabled me to pursue certifications in technologies like AWS, Snowflake, and Google Cloud, setting me up for bigger and better projects down the line,” the data consultant wrote.

A senior specialist for talent acquisition in the Seattle area, wrote in a LinkedIn post that all good things must come to an end.

“I have TRULY enjoyed my 2 years at Slalom and so grateful to have met so many wonderful people. While my time has been cut short due to layoffs, I am grateful to have worked for such a wonderful company. 2023 has been quite the roller coaster of emotions for me (IYKYK), so this was definitely a gut punch, but I’m hopeful I will land my next role soon!” the senior specialist wrote.

A New York-based human resources employee at Slalom wrote she is sad to be leaving the company.

“As one of the 7% affected from Slalom’s sudden layoffs, I’m sad to leave a company where I spent 5.5 years of my career. I’m grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow within the Organizational Effectiveness and Talent space at Slalom. If anyone hears of any openings, or can provide any network support, I’d love to connect! Thank you,” the talent strategist wrote.

A technical product manager for AWS and GenAI in Slalom’s Chicago area wrote that she was part of the seven percent of the staff that received a layoff notice.

“I want to express my gratitude to all of you who have been a part of my professional journey thus far. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me, and I look forward to staying connected as I embark on this next chapter. Will I...Go Remote? Take a sabbatical? Start a Business? Write a book? Honestly, who knows but I’ll be out of office for now,” the technical product manager wrote.