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PwC is preparing to axe up to 600 workers as weaker demand for advisory services leaves Big Four accountants overstaffed.
The professional services group is seeking to cut between 500 and 600 jobs in a voluntary redundancy scheme, which will impact 2.4pc of its 25,000 employees in the UK.
Redundancies will be compulsory if not enough employees choose to leave.
PwC is the latest Big Four member to embark on a round of UK job cuts after years of excessive hiring to meet high M&A demand.
However, a sharp drop in attrition rates – the number of people leaving firms each year – has led to overstaffing issues as clients cancelled contracts due to harsher economic conditions.
The number of staff leaving PwC has fallen by 5pc in recent months, bringing its current attrition rate to around 10pc.
A PwC spokesman said: “In light of lower than normal attrition rates and subdued growth in parts of the business, we are making targeted voluntary severance offers to some of our people.
“Decisions about jobs are never taken lightly – this is about flexing our business to demand. There are still areas of good growth and recruitment.”
The proposed job cuts will mostly target PwC’s advisory business, as well as a small number of roles in the firm’s tax division. The firm’s audit department will not be affected.
Redundancies will affect all levels of seniority, although junior and mid-level roles are most at risk given PwC’s bottom-heavy structure.
Employees in their first year will be excluded from the redundancy programme.
PwC employees who volunteer for redundancy will receive a more generous exit package than those who are forced out.
Kevin Ellis, PwC UK chairman, sought to defend the layoffs when asked about reducing profits paid to partners, who received an average of £906,000 last year.
He told the Financial Times: “When you are running a business you have got to be competitive at all grades, including the partner grade.
“You need to be a profitable business to play your part in society, whether funding apprenticeships or programmes in schools.”
Deloitte is also preparing to axe 800 jobs in the UK, while EY and KPMG have each launched redundancy rounds targeting hundreds of staff in their advisory and consulting businesses.