PricewaterhouseCoopers is laying off 1,500 employees, or about 2% of its U.S. workforce of approximately 75,000 employees.
The layoffs come on the heels of another round of layoffs last September, when PwC cut 1,800 jobs. Other Big Four firms have also made plans for layoffs, including Deloitte, which is facing cutbacks in its advisory business after the Trump administration announced it was canceling or modifying over 100 federal consulting contracts.
"We are positioned for the future, to meet the needs of our clients as they evolve and to lead in a fast-changing marketplace," said a PwC spokesperson. "This was a difficult decision, and we made it with care, thoughtfulness, and a deep awareness of its impact on our people, appreciating that historically low levels of attrition over consecutive years have made it necessary to take this step. We will continue to invest in the development of our people, deliver an exceptional client experience, and maintain the high standards of quality that define PwC and the outcomes we deliver."
Most of the layoffs are in the audit and tax practices, according to the Financial Times, with some job cuts in the products and technology group, which the layoffs last fall also affected. The firm is also reducing its campus hiring.
The New York-based firm reorganized last April under its senior partner, Paul Griggs, who realigned its organizational structure across three lines of service — assurance, tax and advisory — starting last July, only about three years after PwC restructured into two sides: Trust Solutions and Consulting Solutions. This is now the second round of cutbacks under Griggs.
PwC firms in the U.K., Australia and Canada also cut jobs in 2023 and 2024, partly due to the high interest rate environment that has hampered the consulting business and a tax scandal in Australia that involved the sharing of a confidential government document with clients.
