Elite Consulting Firms Face Existential Threat as AI Disrupts White-Collar Work Pipeline

Prestigious consulting firms like McKinsey, long positioned as guaranteed pathways to executive success, are facing unprecedented disruption from AI and automation. Economist Alice Lassman argues that the traditional two-year consulting contract—which promised entry into the 1% in exchange for grueling work—is losing its prestige value as the skills these firms taught become commoditized or automated.

Why it matters: If consulting's reputation as a 'CEO factory' and elite career launcher collapses, it signals broader vulnerability across white-collar professions and reshapes where top talent will seek career validation in an AI-driven economy.