About six per cent of KPMG’s deal advisory business in the UK will be losing their jobs. The accounting firm had already announced reduction of five per cent of its US team about five months ago.
It was first reported by The Financial Times that the firm, which is part of the Big Four, planned to let go 125 of its consultants in the UK, that is, about 2.3 per cent of the team in September.
The multinational professional services network has been trying to cut costs for some time now. The deal advisory teams were told not to expect any pay hikes this year. Also, employees had already been informed that they should be prepared for smaller bonuses this year.
With clients stalling projects and demand being adversely affected due to the economic environment, KPMG, like others of the Big Four is looking at controlling costs and taking measures to remain agile and profitable. As part of this exercise, it has even shifted some of its staff members to the more ‘in-demand’ service divisions.
KPMG boasts of a total workforce strength of about 17,000 across various divisions, including tax, deals practices, audit and consulting.
Many of the Big Four accounting firms in the UK had overhired during a phase of fast expansion when deals were aplenty. Now, with a slump in the market, they have more human resources than required, which is the main cause for job cuts.
