A representative of global consulting firm Accenture told the Washington Business Journal it is hiring as many as 642 employees in the D.C. area as part of a hiring spree set to include 7,000 people nationally.

 According to Business Journal, the jobs include systems integration and technology analysts, content management consultants, asset management analysts, business development specialists, commercial and contract management, operations consultants, entry level consulting analysts, consulting interns and junior technical architects, among many others.

The hiring spree comes seven months after Accenture laid off 336 senior-level executives, which equated to about 7 percent of its executive staff.  A spokesman for Accenture was not immediately available to explain the catalyst for the company’s expansion.

Accenture is a Fortune Global 500 company with more than 186,000 employees in 52 countries.