EY planning senior partner layoffs – reports
Big four firm EY is set to lay off dozens of senior partners in its most significant redundancy plan in decades amid a slowdown in consultancy spending.
According to The Sunday Times, the accountancy and consultancy business, which welcomed its new UK boss at the start of the year, will be making a fresh round of job cuts.
One big four rival told The Sunday Times that in recent weeks, 10 EY partners had contacted them seeking work.
EY currently has 894 equity partners and 757 non-equity partners, which jointly own and manage the firm, though the latter group do not share in its profits.
Insiders also told The Sunday Times that a small number of EY’s equity partners will be converted into non-equity partners, though they will not be the focus of the cost-cutting plan.
“We continually assess the needs of our business and make adjustments when required,” a spokesperson for EY told CityAM.
The news comes after Anna Anthony began as managing partner of EY’s UK and Ireland business at the start of the year, having previously led its UK financial services arm.
EY employs some 20,000 people in the UK and has struggled with a slowdown in consultancy spending, both from private businesses and imminent plans from the government to slash spending on outside consultants.
In December, it was revealed that EY was cutting 150 roles in its UK consultancy division, after revenue in the arm dropped four per cent.
In October, EY reported its weakest annual revenue growth in 14 years, coming in at just 3.9 per cent across the firm.
Redundancies were made among managers, senior managers and directors, which are the highest-paid roles below partner level.
In 2024, the UK Big Four firms made over 900 redundancies, as clients struggling with tighter monetary conditions reduce spending on costly external advisers.