Consulting company Accenture will take an axe to its Australian executive team, making up to 70 managing directors redundant.

The Australian Financial Review reports that this could constitute up to a quarter of local MDs, with the consultancy confirming that the redundancies are due to an “overcapacity of skills in certain areas”. A spokesperson did not comment on the number of redundancies, but said they would affect “a very small percentage” of employees.

“We remain committed to our business in Australia and New Zealand and believe these markets offer strong opportunities for our future growth,” the spokesperson said.

“Following a review of our current business we have identified an overcapacity of skills in certain areas and will need to rebalance our workforce. This will affect a very small percentage of our workforce in ANZ.

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“Additionally, we continue recruiting for specialised skills and leadership talent in areas where we need to add capacity to meet client demand.”

The AFR reports that underperforming MDs will be first on the chopping block. Those deemed to have underperformed will be most at risk, followed by those placed on performance improvement plans, Accenture’s ANZ chair Bob Easton reportedly told executives last week.

This week, The Monkeys’ Mark Green became the lead of Accenture Interactive Australia and New Zealand. Easton said the appointment comes at a “very exciting time”, as the business “continues to grow at pace and scale”.

Green’s co-founders at The Monkeys, Justin Drape and Scott Nowell, were also named Accenture Interactive’s co-chief creative officers, with all three performing these roles in addition to their agency responsibilities. The appointments follow Accenture’s purchase of the agency in 2017 for $63m.

In addition to The Monkeys, the consultancy has made a global series of agency acquisitions including UK’s Karmarama, design firm Fjord and e-commerce specialist Acquity Group.

Earlier this year, the consultancy’s agency arm, Accenture Interactive, bought iconic agency Droga5 in its largest deal to date.