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The PWC is planning to cut around 175 junior auditors in the UK and told other staff that wage increases will fall this year as four large companies tackle a more demanding market situation.
The PWC told about 270 audit associates last week that they were part of a mandatory redundant round, according to people familiar with the issue.
Cuts scheduled to take effect in August are usually optional and contrast with previous redundancy, which focused on areas other than auditing. The company intends to cut down a total of around 175 roles, but the final figure may be higher or lower, one of the people said.
Audit staff at big four companies (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PWC) tend to be insulated from economic slump than their consulting colleagues as their consulting departments benefit from repetitive jobs annually while demand is declining.
Several people familiar with the issue said it was among the redundant non-British citizens on corporate-sponsored visas. Such staff are more expensive for businesses to hold than their UK counterparts. The PWC declined to comment on this point.
PWC’s 25,000 UK staff members were told last week they would receive a 2.5% wage increase from July.
The company paid a 9% bumper salary increase in 2022 to half of its employees and 6% in 2023, but since then, its salary has been restricted after UK inflation has dropped to normal levels than in recent years. UK inflation was 3.4% in May.
Smaller increases occur as the professional services sector has declined in demand in several areas and staff voluntary departures are rapidly declining. Companies, including McKinsey and Deloitte, have recently cut down on staff, including putting pressure on underperforming staff in the tougher career reviews of McKinsey.
This year, the PWC retains the pandemic-era perk of staff being able to take half a day on a summer Friday, but has reformed the initiative as “summer work hours” as “summer work hours” rather than “summer work hours.”
One person said junior staff are more likely to use policy than senior colleagues, adding that the change in emphasis has given senior staff more empowerment to request junior employees work on Friday afternoons if necessary.
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Profits were introduced in 2022 for 12 weeks in 2022, but were reduced to 8 and 6 weeks last summer. Some senior partners have been critical of the policy and have previously said they are destroying businesses heading towards clients.
Audit associates affected by the redundancy program were reportedly being cut off in a webcast that last week, which lasted about 10 minutes.
The PWC stated: “We are constantly rethinking our business to meet changing demand, attrition rates and new opportunities for our clients.
“Sometimes, you may need to reduce your roles as a result. Such decisions are never underestimated. We continue to invest heavily in people, such as pay, promotions, bonuses, training.”
