KPMG to cut 200 UK jobs as firm battles market slowdown

KPMG is reportedly set to slash yet more roles in the UK as the firm battles with a market slowdown.

The firm is set to cut a further 200 back-office and client-facing roles following a review of its cost base, the Financial Times reported.

The firm will merge certain back-office functions and “reduce duplication” in parts of its client-facing operations as part of the restructuring, the report said.

The firm launched its consultation process on Thursday and the reduction of these 200 roles will be made by 1 October 2024.

This comes after it was reported last October that the firm was planning a wave of job cuts and salary freezes in its UK deal advisory division.

Collectively, across all the Big Fours firm, there have been roles put on the chopping block, with most targeting their advisory units amid a huge slump in dealmaking. Over 2023, some 1,800 jobs at the Big Four firms in the UK were cut due to the slump in M&A activity.

Over the last year, the growth of the UK’s consulting market slowed by over 10 per cent.

The UK’s consulting market only grew by 4.7 per cent across 2023 to revenues of £15.2bn, which was down on the 15.6 per cent growth recorded over 2022, according to a report by Source Global Research in March.

As James Beeby, research lead at Source said: “After strong market growth post pandemic, last year was a challenging year for UK consultants, and things are expected to get worse—with growth forecast to flatline this year.”

Despite that, a separate survey from earlier this year by Management Consultancies Association, stated that the consultancy sector will have single-digit growth this year, as it predicts growth of 9 per cent for 2023.

KPMG, like other businesses, is also battling the tougher UK visa requirements as it was reported last month that it had revoking job offers from foreign graduates after the new powers came in.

While this is going on, the firm was in the headlines in May after KPMG UK partners and KPMG Switzerland partners voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of merging to become a $4.4bn (£3.5bn) business.

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The merger – which will see almost 16,000 staff members in the UK united with over 2,600 people in Switzerland – is expected to complete later this year,

A KPMG UK spokesperson stated: “Like the rest of our sector we are still operating in challenging market conditions, which is why we have made the difficult decision to consult on proposals to reduce our cost base by simplifying ways of working in our central services, as well as matching our client-facing resources to demand.”

“We will continue to support our people as we consult through these proposed changes. At our core we remain a people business offering attractive and progressive roles that can meet our client’s expectations now and in the future,” they added.