Consulting giant McKinsey & Company is embarking on a rare round of major job cuts, with plans to eliminate about 1,400 jobs, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The consulting giant, which has seen rapid growth in its headcount over the past decade, is restructuring how it organizes its support teams starting this week, including workforce reductions or moving people into other roles. The total cuts will amount to about 3% of the headcount which has ballooned to almost 47,000 from 28,000 just five years ago and 17,000 in 2012.
The total number of cuts was described by a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A spokesperson declined to comment.
Unlike some of the major financial firms it works with, McKinsey rarely carries out job cuts in its own ranks. Even underperforming employees in client-facing roles tend to depart after being “counselled to leave” — a phrase that indicates the company doesn’t want them on client projects and recommends they try to find a different employer.
The company, where it can, is “implementing reductions through attrition or voluntary departures,” Sternfels wrote.
McKinsey posted a record $15 billion in revenue in 2021, and surpassed that figure in 2022, a person familiar with the matter said last month.
