PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four accounting firms, is set to lay off approximately 1,500 employees in the United States, citing historically low staff turnover as a key factor behind the move. According to a report by the Financial Times, the job cuts represent roughly 2 percent of the firm’s 75,000-strong U.S. workforce and will primarily impact its audit and tax divisions.
The decision follows months of internal business assessments and comes as the firm attempts to align staffing levels with a slowing pace of growth, especially within its advisory units. PwC had earlier attempted to avoid layoffs by reassigning hundreds of employees from underutilized roles to high-growth areas. However, the persistently low attrition rate left leadership with little choice but to proceed with reductions.
“This was a difficult decision, and we made it with care, thoughtfulness and a deep awareness of its impact on our people,” a PwC spokesperson said. “Historically low levels of attrition over consecutive years have made it necessary to take this step.”
The affected employees, some of whom had only recently joined the firm, were informed early this week through Microsoft Teams invitations marked “time sensitive.” One individual, who began working at PwC last September, told the Financial Times they were “devastated” and that “everyone was completely blindsided by the lay-offs.” Another employee said they had been up for promotion but were instead handed a termination notice.
The firm has also decided to scale back campus recruitment efforts for the time being, though it will honor job offers already extended to former interns expected to join later this year.
This marks the second round of job cuts under the leadership of U.S. senior partner Paul Griggs, who assumed the role a year ago. In September, Griggs spearheaded a restructuring of PwC’s products and technology group, resulting in approximately 1,800 job losses. The latest round includes further cuts in that division.
PwC is not alone in facing workforce adjustments. Deloitte recently announced similar measures, laying off staff in its advisory arm amid weaker-than-expected demand and pressure on government contracting. KPMG followed suit in November, shedding about 330 jobs, or 4 percent of its U.S. audit workforce, also citing unusually low attrition.
With the boom in tech consulting post-pandemic now fading and merger activity stalling due to market uncertainty, the Big Four are finding themselves forced to recalibrate headcount and hiring strategies—once a hallmark of their expansive graduate recruitment pipelines.
