Deloitte is laying off 180 employees across its UK advisory divisions, reports Financial Times. Citing people familiar with the move, the report says that the Big Four firm has informed the affected staff on Tuesday i.e. November 19 that their jobs were at risk in a restructuring. The company said that it was necessary to navigate “challenging market conditions”.
Deloitte’s recent cost-cutting measures suggest that large firms expect only modest improvements in the coming year. According to consulting industry research group Source Global, the global financial services consulting market is projected to grow by 5% in 2024 — double last year’s growth rate — but the UK market is expected to contract by 2%.
Divisions affected by Deloitte layoffs
As part of the latest job cuts, staff in both the strategy, risk and transactions division and the technology and transformation division will be impacted. The source told the publication that the job losses add up to less than 1 per cent of Deloitte’s UK workforce and are still subject to consultation.
Deloitte’s consulting division reported a 1% drop in revenue for the financial year, while its financial advisory services saw a 2% decline. The consulting sector in the UK has slowed significantly following the end of a pandemic-driven surge in technology transformation projects. Additionally, reduced merger and acquisition activity has dampened demand for financial advisory services in the financial sector.
As part of a global reorganisation, Deloitte has streamlined its UK operations this year, consolidating its business units from five to four: audit and assurance; strategy, risk, and transactions; technology and transformation; and tax and legal.
Previous job cuts at Deloitte
In September last year, the company announced 800 job cuts. Deloitte laid off 100 employees in February this year. Richard Houston, Deloitte’s UK senior partner and chief executive, warned in September, 2024 that the firm had to “carefully consider our cost base and make some difficult choices this year”. The Big Four company has also been pushing out workers who it deems to be underperforming, including about 250 advisory staff this autumn.