Deloitte to cut 800 roles in the UK

Deloitte is reportedly looking to cut roughly 800 roles in its UK division, which is equivalent to about 3% of its workforce of 27,000 in the country, a person familiar with the plans has told The Financial Times.

The news comes as the firm is said to be contending with slowing demand from clients, who are cutting their spending on advisory services in a tougher economic environment. 

According to The Financial Times, the move was spurred in part by slowing growth in H2 due to clients being more cautious with their spending, as well as low attrition. 

As a result, the job cuts will reportedly target consulting, financial advisory and risk advisory, as well as a small number of roles in audit and assurance. 

Richard Houston, CEO of Deloitte, told Accountancy Today: “Today we announced some targeted restructuring across our businesses, which may — subject to consultation — put some roles at risk of redundancy. 

“This follows a slowdown in growth, which, combined with the ongoing economic uncertainty, means we have to consider the shape of our business and may mean we have to make some difficult decisions.” 

Deloitte, along with the other Big Four firms, have seen slowing demand from consulting clients, following bumper growth in 2021 and early 2022 when companies were seeking advice on how to deal with challenges linked to the pandemic.  

However, the professional services sector has been hit by rising costs over the past year, following a boom in M&A activity that drove deal advisory work to abate as interest rates climbed. 

This summer, PwC also informed its 25,000 UK staff to expect smaller pay rises and bonuses and potential freezes this year as a result of the “challenging” market conditions.