PwC asks for silence from departing staff in programme of UK job cuts

PwC has launched a round of “silent lay-offs” in the UK, with affected staff told they must not inform colleagues why they are leaving and have to follow a “suggested wording” if they want to send goodbye messages.

The Big Four accountancy firm has launched a new voluntary severance programme across multiple UK offices in recent weeks, but has not made any official announcements internally about the move, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.

Staff who have been offered a package to leave have been notified individually, the people said. They have been told they must not tell other staff if they accept the offer and to follow a script provided by HR if they want to send leaving notes to colleagues.

In guidance sent to affected employees, reviewed by the FT, PwC said: “Should you decide to accept this voluntary offer, it is possible for you to send out a note to a defined group, however this must not refer to the voluntary severance offer or the circumstances of leaving (suggested wording for this note is given below but we recognise that you will naturally want to personalise this).

“Naturally, it must also not be derogatory to PwC or its employees/partners. It is down to business discretion as to when this message can be sent out and if the business wishes to review messages before they are sent out.”

The guidance continues: “The content of your comms should follow this approach . . . ‘Following recent discussions with my [relationship leader], I have taken the decision to leave PwC. It hasn’t been an easy decision for me to reach but now that I have, I am excited about what the future holds for me and the new opportunities on the horizon. I have really enjoyed my time at PwC and the opportunity to work with such talented colleagues.’”

The latest moves come after PwC cut around 600 roles at the end of last year following a significant drop in the number of people leaving the firm.

PwC declined to say how many roles were being targeted by the voluntary severance programme, but one person familiar with the matter said it was a “significant round”. The programme is targeting the firm’s consulting, risk and operational and managed service divisions in London and Belfast, according to people familiar with the detail. The firm would not comment on whether other offices and business lines were also affected.

PwC said: “We have to keep the shape of our business under review to respond to changing client demand, attrition rates and new opportunities. Through limited targeted voluntary severance, we can continue to recruit at entry level and where different skills are needed.”

One person familiar with the scheme said the guidance was consistent with what PwC usually did for “targeted voluntary severance”, adding that staff receive an enhanced package compared with compulsory redundancy.

All of the Big Four — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — have cut hundreds of jobs each in the UK in recent months after the worsening economic backdrop hit demand for some of their services. Source Global, a sector analyst, has forecast that Britain’s consulting market will struggle to grow this year.

PwC’s UK partners were paid an average of £906,000 in the year to June 2023, down from £1.03mn during the previous year.

The scheme also comes just weeks before Marco Amitrano, the firm’s former consulting leader, is set to succeed Kevin Ellis as senior partner.

Letter in response to this article:

Why PwC’s silent lay-offs plan is likely to founder / From Mary McCarthy, Dublin, Ireland