(credit: Nagahisa_Design – stock.adobe.com)

The move, scheduled for August 2025, comes in response to challenging market conditions and a significant fall in voluntary staff departures.

The Big Four firm informed the affected employees during a brief webcast, marking a departure from its usual reliance on voluntary severance programmes. This decision reflects a broader trend of slowing demand in the professional services sector, a contrast to the historically resilient nature of audit work during economic downturns.

A PwC spokesperson said: “We always keep the shape of our business under review to respond to changing client demands, attrition rates and new opportunities.

“From time to time, we may need to reduce roles as a consequence – such decisions are never taken lightly. We continue to invest heavily in our people, including pay, promotions, bonuses and training.”

Alongside the redundancies, PwC’s 25,000 UK employees will receive an average salary increase of 2.5% from July, a reduction from the 3% rise awarded last year. The firm has, however, maintained its popular “Summer Empowerment” policy, which allows staff to take half-day Fridays during the summer months.

Sources cited by the Financial Times indicated that non-British nationals on company-sponsored visas are among those facing redundancy, reportedly due to the higher costs associated with their employment. PwC has not issued a comment on this specific aspect of the job cuts.

The professional services industry as a whole is grappling with a post-pandemic dip in demand for consultancy services and lower than expected staff attrition rates. Other major firms, including Deloitte and McKinsey, have also announced workforce reductions in response to the challenging economic climate.

This restructuring at PwC in the UK coincides with the firm’s efforts to reorganise its US advisory division to focus on industry-specific services and ongoing issues concerning its audit of the China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong.