The Big Four firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC) are facing challenges such as increasing costs and less demand. EY in the UK is cutting 150 more jobs due to decreased demand for specific services, bringing the total job cuts for the year to 300.
The cuts span various sectors, including EY’s legal and advisory businesses. EY is closing EY Riverview Law, a legal services firm it acquired in 2018, resulting in significant layoffs.
Now, the job cuts are expanding to different parts of the business, especially in areas such as transactions and deal advisory, which are expected to face challenges until 2024. In April, after dropping Project Everest, a plan to separate audit and consulting, EY’s UK partners were told to expect cost-saving measures. In recent job cut talks, around 40 positions at EY-Parthenon and approximately 55 jobs at EY Riverview Law are expected to be affected.
The firm has announced a strategic assessment of its resource needs, proposing adjustments to align with market demand. The firm plans to prioritise the redeployment of employees when possible. The acquisition of Riverview was aimed at strengthening EY’s legal managed services division.
The UK branch, with around 21,000 employees, saw a 5 per cent decrease in average earnings for partners, who earned an average of £761,000 in the last financial year.
