PwC Enters New Phase of Layoffs

Spring layoffs [1] of nearly 1,000 employees and job offer deferrals [2] were not enough to combat the overcapacity at one of the world's largest accounting and consultancy firms. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has announced plans to lay off another five percent of its workforce. This translates into approximately 800 employees, most of them consultants and support staff, and most of them in the United States.

In addition to the layoffs, PwC has plans to reduce base compensation five to 10 percent for junior consultants and partners. Continuing a trend that began earlier this year, the firm will once again defer start dates for new hires who were expecting to begin their careers with the Big Five firm this fall.

In an interview with The New York Times, Mike Collins, managing partner of PwC's North American consulting group, said, "Unfortunately, the costs of consulting have grown as a result of the strong economy of recent years, and have not yet been reset to reflect the current environment. We're basically doing the same thing we would tell our clients to do."