The UK wing of Deloitte’s global network is said to be set to lay off around 180 employees. Reports in the British press note that the job-losses will come at the expense of the Big Four firm’s strategy, risk and transactions division, and its technology and transformation division.
Major consulting firms have struggled to adjust to adapt to fluctuations in demand since the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Big Four enjoyed a surge in growth amid the crisis period, the years since have seen consulting growth return to normal levels – leaving the firms left with inflated headcounts they had brought on board to cope with that earlier rise in work.
Deloitte’s global revenue growth stagnated at 1.9% in the financial year which ended in May 2024 – compared to estimates of the global consulting sector as a whole enjoying 19% growth. In the UK, the firm also reported muted expansion of 2%, in contrast to 11% enjoyed by the wider membership of the UK’s Management Consultancies Association over the same period.
As the firm looks to shore up its bottom line, Deloitte has been shedding large numbers of roles in the last 18 months. In September 2023, the firm announced 800 layoffs, which was later followed by an extra 100 cuts in February 2024. Even after that, Deloitte UK Chief Executive Richard Houston hinted there might be a further need for cost management, noting, “Like many businesses, we had to carefully consider our cost base and make some difficult choices.”
As per reports from the Financial Times, those “difficult choices” will now include another 180 roles in its UK arm, citing people familiar with the situation. The Business Insider later confirmed the story, noting that the firm had “informed staff… that parts of its UK business would be undergoing a restructuring process that would ‘put some roles at risk of redundancy.’”
A Deloitte spokesperson also told the Business Insider that the job cuts were still subject to consultation, while an internal message to staff has also been seen by the business news site. Reportedly, the email said the cuts would “affect staff from the strategy, risk and transactions, and technology and transformation divisions.”
Should the 180 figure come to pass, that would impact less than 1% of Deloitte’s 27,000-strong UK workforce. However, UK law dictates that companies making more than 100 redundancies must hold consultation for at least 45 days before dismissing employees.
A statement from Deloitte to the Business Insider added, “In the context of an ongoing challenging market, we have to carefully consider the shape of our firm.”
Deloitte is not the only Big Four member to be taking such action. According to a Wall Steet Journal, PwC US plans to lay off 1,800 employees – or 2.5% of its 75,000-person workforce. KPMG has similarly announced plans that will affect about 4% of the firm’s roughly 9,000 auditing staff in the US alone, while EY’s global annual report on Thursday revealed a reduction of 2,450 employees over the past fiscal year.