EY adds nearly 10,000 staff globally as its AI business booms

Fears of AI-driven job loss loom over the professional services industry, but at EY, depending on where you work, you needn’t worry.

The Big Four consulting and accounting firm reported on Thursday that it added nearly 10,000 jobs globally in its 2026 financial year, as revenue from AI-related services surged almost 50%.

The rise in head count brings EY’s workforce to 415,000.

Much of that rise was concentrated in a category that EY calls its global entities, which added more than 10,000 staff.

The group, also known as EY’s global delivery services, includes its offshoring centers.

In the firm’s Americas division, the workforce decreased by roughly 4,500, or 5%.

Workforce shifts come as EY and its global boss Janet Truncale have bet big on AI under its “All-In” strategy.

The firm has invested billions to transform its operating model and evolve the services it offers clients.

The 50% surge in AI-related sales, up from a 30% rise for the year before, suggests the AI bet is paying off.

The rise in demand for AI-related services reflects that businesses have moved beyond experimentation and are now redesigning how they operate, said Truncale, EY’s global chair and CEO, in a press release.

Overall global revenue rose 4.7% in the 2026 financial year to hit $57 billion.

EY-Parthenon, the firm’s strategy and transactions arm, was its fastest-growing service line, increasing revenue 7.4% to $6.8 billion.

The numbers mark a turnaround from EY-Parthenon’s performance over the previous two years, when the division grew by 2.6% and 0%.

It also signals success in expanding the EY-Parthenon brand to represent the entire strategy and transactions service line in 2025.

A rebound in the deal market and demand for strategy services is also likely to have contributed to the rise.

Tax revenue rose 6% to $13.8 billion, while consulting grew 4.4% to $17.4 billion, and assurance grew 3% to $18.9 billion.

EY’s results cover the first full financial year following its consolidation of 18 geographic regions into 10.

EY said the simpler structure would improve collaboration, speed, and client service across its international network.

As EY develops its AI offering for clients, it has also been changing the way its own employees work.

The firm said it has invested $448 million in training and development during the year.

AI has disrupted professional services, putting pressure on time-based pricing models and creating questions about how junior talent will develop as more work gets automated.

Despite the uncertainty, leaders at top firms have said the technology offers a healthy pipeline of new consulting business, arguing that rather than being replaced by AI, companies will need consultants to help them implement it and reorganize their workforces.

EY’s annual results showed that the firm has added 9,000 jobs in its consulting division globally.

Increasingly, consulting firms are working on multi-year projects to completely transform a company’s operations.

There are also new AI-related opportunities in auditing, tax advice, and deal valuations.

While EY’s AI-related business surged, results from other consultancies have been mixed.

In September, Deloitte said its global revenue grew 3.8% to $74.5 billion — a slowdown compared to the 4.8% rise the year before.

Deloitte’s tech consulting business was the slowest-growing division.

The technology and transformation arm grew 2.5% compared with 4.7% the previous year.

Shares in Accenture, one of the few publicly listed consulting giants, have fallen 26.7% to date in 2026 amid investor fears that AI could undermine the traditional consulting model.

The company’s recent financial results for the year ended August 31st helped lift expectations.

Accenture said it had added more than 400 clients undertaking their first “advanced AI” work in its latest financial year, and that AI-driven reinventions were behind its 5% rise in annual revenue.