They used to be the rockstars of the business world, parachuting in to crack the toughest problems for companies and governments.
PwC – a Big Four goliath that offers everything from accountancy and legal services to consulting – was the latest to announce job cuts on Tuesday:The decision follows similar bloodlettings at rivals: Deloitte has already confirmed it is laying off 800 staff, while both EY and KPMG are letting go of around 100 employees each. On the other side of the Atlantic, McKinsey has announced plans to slash more than 1000 jobs.
Mergers and acquisitions are the bread and butter of professional services, with strategy houses, accountants, consultants and lawyers all brought in to hammer out the details. Carlyle, the US private equity giant that owns Addison Lee among others, on Tuesday became the latest to warn of job and cost cutting after raising a new fund that was 20 per cent smaller than its last. That is more bad news for companies vying to sell it advice.
Now, with economic conditions looking choppier, workers value job security again. Attrition rates have collapsed. Meanwhile, businesses often bring consultants in to rubber-stamp controversial decisions such as layoffs – effectively outsourcing some of the responsibility.