PwC Lays Off 1,800 Employees in the US... First Reduction Since 2009

2.5% of All Employees at US Corporations

The U.S. branch of the global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is laying off as many as 1,800 employees and reorganizing its technology business division, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time).

According to sources, PwC is reducing staff in the U.S. and other regions, primarily cutting personnel in advisory and product & technology operations divisions in the U.S. About half of the laid-off employees work outside the U.S., and the layoffs target various positions ranging from general staff to directors. Employees from business services, audit, and tax departments are included.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The scale of the 1,800 layoffs corresponds to about 2.5% of the total workforce of PwC's U.S. branch. PwC plans to notify the affected employees next month.

According to an internal document obtained by WSJ on the same day, Paul Grigs, head of PwC's U.S. branch, stated, "There will be workforce adjustments affecting a relatively small number of our employees," adding, "This is by no means an easy task." He also said, "Ultimately, we are positioning the company for the future, generating investment capabilities, and anticipating and responding to current and future market opportunities."

Grigs announced plans to reorganize the product and technology teams and streamline procedures in business services.

WSJ explained that PwC initiated the layoffs due to a decline in demand for advisory services.

The last official layoffs at PwC's U.S. branch were in 2009. In 2017, as part of restructuring, some employees were transferred internally, and those who refused to move resigned. While other Big Four accounting firms such as EY, KPMG, and Deloitte laid off thousands of workers in the U.S. over the past two years, PwC did not lay off a single employee.

However, signs of layoffs appeared after Grigs took office as head of the U.S. branch in May. Restructuring began in July, shifting the business divisions from two to three. In 2021, PwC had integrated its tax reporting and accounting businesses into a single division called Trust Solutions, but in July, the tax division was separated into an independent business unit.