Accounting giant KPMG axes hundreds of jobs as it grapples to slash costs

KPMG is cutting hundreds of jobs as it slashes costs amid an increasingly tough market.

Some 590 roles ‘at risk’ in the accounting giant’s audit division include 440 assistant managers, staff were told on a call late last week, according to the Financial Times.

Another 120 are to go at the advisory arm, with hundreds more considered for possible redundancies. Demand from clients for services provided by the major accounting firms has fallen amid sharp cost-cutting. 

The firms are also grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on that demand, as well as the need to reorganise the business to adopt the technology. 

A spokesman said in relation to the cuts at the advisory business: ‘Given the ongoing evolving market conditions, and following careful consideration, we are launching proposals to reduce roles in some areas of our advisory business.’

And on the audit business – which scrutinises the accounts of major firms – the spokesman pointed to low levels of staff leaving through ‘natural attrition’ thanks to ‘current market conditions’. 

That has meant it needs to ‘right-size those areas’.