Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
KPMG has reportedly scrapped its policy of letting staff finish early on Fridays during the summer months after a slump in consultancy work, according to the Telegraph.
Staff at the firm will no longer be allowed to leave at 3pm on Fridays between June and August.
The Telegraph learnt that the business, which employs almost 17,000 people in the UK, has run the scheme since 2021 but ditched it amid a slowdown in the professional services industry.
The sector has faced declining demand for environmental, social and governance advisory work.
Global governments have also cut spending on external consultants, and artificial intelligence tools pose a fresh technological threat to traditional firms.
The firm originally launched the summer initiative in 2014 before pausing it a year later. It was reintroduced in 2021 during a post-pandemic recruitment boom that was driven by corporate transitions to cloud computing and remote working.
The Telegraph reported that a slow jobs market has led to higher staff retention rates than expected, prompting the firm to lay off hundreds of workers recently to cut costs.
The consultancy has also reduced its graduate intake from around 1,400 positions in 2023 to roughly 1,000 this year.
Despite the challenges, according to the outlet, recent cost savings helped KPMG increase its average partner payout to £880,000 last year.
A KPMG UK spokesman told the Telegraph: “Every year we review our summer ‘jump start’ programme to make sure we are considering market conditions and business needs.”
KPMG has been contacted for comment.
