Approximately 6% of KPMG’s deal advisory business in the UK will be laid off. The accounting firm had already announced a 5% reduction in its US team about five months ago.
The Financial Times first reported that the Big Four firm planned to lay off 125 of its consultants in the UK, or about 2.3 percent of the team, in September.
For some time, the multinational professional services network has been attempting to reduce costs. The deal advisory teams were told that no raises would be granted this year. Additionally, employees had already been informed that they should expect lower bonuses this year.
With clients delaying projects and demand suffering as a result of the economic environment, KPMG, like the other Big Four firms, is looking to cut costs and take steps to remain agile and profitable. It has even shifted some of its employees to more ‘in-demand’ service divisions as part of this exercise.
KPMG employs approximately 17,000 people across various divisions, including tax, deals practises, audit, and consulting.
Many of the UK’s Big Four accounting firms had over-hired during a period of rapid expansion when deals were plentiful. With the market downturn, they now have more human resources than needed, which is the primary reason for job cuts.
