Consulting at Deloitte, AI, Ls, and Sub Families like 3
January 23, 2026
It seems that artificial intelligence is forcing some vocabulary change in the blue chip world of big buck consulting services. “Deloitte to Scrap Traditional Job Titles As AI Ushers in a ‘Modernization’ of the Big Four” reports the inside skivvy:
… the firm is shifting away from a workforce structure that was originally designed for “traditional consulting profiles,” a model the firm now deems outdated.
When a client, maybe at a Japanese outfit, asks, “What does this mean?” the consultant can explain the nuances of a job family and a sub family; for instance, a software engineer 3 or a project management senior consultant, functional transformation. I like the idea of “functional transformation” instead of “consultant.”
However, the big news in the write up in my opinion is:
A new leadership class simply titled “Leaders” will join the senior ranks of partners, principals, and managing directors. And internally, employees will also be assigned alphanumeric levels, such as L45 for what is currently a senior consultant and L55 for managers. However, the presentation stressed that the day-to-day work, leadership, and the firm’s “compensation philosophy” will all remain the same.
The “news” is in the phrase “the firm’s compensation philosophy will all remain the same.”
All. AI means jobs will be off loaded to good enough AI agents, services, and systems. If these systems do not lead to the loss of engagements, then AI adepts will get paid more and the consultants who burn hours that could be completed in minutes or hours by software means, in my opinion:
- Unproductive workers will be moved down and out
- AI adepts will be moved up and given an “L” deslignation
- New hires will be at a baseline until their value as a sales person, AI adept, or magician who can convert AI output into a scope change, a repeatable high value work products, or do work that allows no revenue loss.
Yep, all.
The write up notes:
Last September [2025], Deloitte committed $3 billion in generative AI development through fiscal year 2030. The company has also launched Zora AI, an agentic AI model powered by Nvidia to “to automate complex business processes, eliminate data siloes and boost productivity for the human workforce.”
My conclusion: Fewer staff, higher pay for AI adepts, client fees increase. Profits, if any, go to the big number “L’s”. Is this an innovation? Nope, adaptation. Get that new job lingo in a LinkedIn profile.
Stephen E Arnold, January 23, 2026
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