KPMG TO CUT 200 ADVISORY JOBS IN UK REDUNDANCY ROUND

KPMG has confirmed it will cut about 200 jobs in its UK advisory division, about 4 per cent of that business's workforce. The reductions will affect all pay grades, and a consultation is under way to decide who will go. Affected staff are expected to leave in October. A KPMG UK spokesperson said the firm was "proposing reductions in some of our advisory client-facing teams" in response to "market dynamics combined with low levels of attrition", and would "support our colleagues throughout this process".

KPMG's advisory revenues fell by 3 per cent in its most recent financial year, and Deloitte, EY and PwC also reported contractions in their consulting businesses. Corporate clients have cut spending on consultancy work amid trade tensions, ongoing conflicts, sluggish economic growth and persistent inflation. Firms in the sector have traditionally coped with less work by not replacing departing staff, but slower hiring means fewer employees are resigning voluntarily. KPMG cited low attrition as a factor behind the cuts, echoing Deloitte, which gave the same reason when it cut about 175 UK roles this summer.

The advisory cuts follow other redundancy rounds at KPMG this year, including about 200 roles cut from its UK corporate services division in July and more than 500 jobs cut in March across its audit and advisory businesses. Graduate recruitment across the Big Four has also fallen, with KPMG's intake reported to have dropped from 1,399 to 942 over two years, a fall of about 33 per cent. Industry observers point to growing use of artificial intelligence to automate tasks previously done by junior analysts. Firms are also said to be increasing offshoring of roles to India, Malaysia and the Philippines.