Deloitte has axed 250 jobs in the UK, in the latest round of cuts among the so-called Big Four accountancy and consulting firms.
The move affects about 1% of Deloitte’s UK workforce, and is thought to target people at the company who are seen as under-performing.
A person familiar with the matter said the cuts are part of a “performance management” process at the company.
They added that those affected have “received appropriate payments for notice”.
The Big Four, which also includes EY, KPMG and PwC, hired aggressively during the Covid-19 pandemic amid a sharp rise in deals and demand for their services.
However, they have all been letting people go over the last 18 months amid a comparatively sluggish market for corporate consultants.
EY cut around 300 jobs last year, PwC launched a round of layoffs this summer, and KPMG axed more than 200 roles at the end of last year while freezing pay for 12,000 of its 17,000 UK staff.
Like many businesses, we had to carefully consider our cost base and make some difficult choices this year
Deloitte’s UK arm said last month that it saw revenue rise 2.4% for the year to May, marking a significant slowdown on the 14% increase which it saw over the previous 12 months.
Its consulting division drove the slowdown, with sales dropping 1% to £1.58 billion as companies cut back on external advice from companies like Deloitte.
Meanwhile, the company’s UK partners took home an average of £1.01 million for the 12-month period, down 5% year on year.
The firm has also been carrying out a major overhaul, shrinking its internal structure to four main lines of business, focusing on audit, strategy, technology and tax – a reduction from five divisions previously.
Richard Houston, Deloitte’s UK senior partner and chief executive, said at the time: “This is a strong set of results in a challenging market, against a difficult economic and geopolitical backdrop.
“Like many businesses, we had to carefully consider our cost base and make some difficult choices this year.”
