Bad news for employees of this company as it sacks 1500 people due to…, not Narayana Murthy’s Infosys, Ratan Tata’s TCS, Google, Microsoft, name is….

In a statement, the company said the decision to lay off employees was not made lightly. “It was a tough call, and we approached it with compassion and serious thought."

PwC, one of the world’s top accounting firms, has let go of around 1,500 employees in the United States, which accounts for roughly 2 per cent of its 75,000-strong US workforce. As reported by the Financial Times, most of those affected were from the audit and tax divisions. The layoffs come after a detailed review of the firm’s operations that had been ongoing for several months. Earlier this year, PwC had moved many staff from low-demand areas to parts of the business experiencing faster growth.

Who was affected?

The employees were informed earlier this week, with notices sent out on Monday and Tuesday. Many received urgent calendar invites through Microsoft Teams titled “time sensitive.” Some of those let go had only recently joined the company. One new hire who started in September said they were left heartbroken and shocked by the sudden decision.

“None of us saw this coming,” they told FT. Another employee shared that they were expecting a promotion but instead found themselves out of a job.

PwC is also pulling back on hiring from college campuses due to reduced employee turnover. However, it confirmed that job offers already extended to last year’s interns will still be honored, and those hires will join later this year as planned.

PwC’s response

In a statement, the company said the decision to lay off employees was not made lightly. “It was a tough call, and we approached it with compassion and serious thought,” PwC said. “The unusually low employee turnover we’ve had over the past few years meant we had to take this step.”

Other layoffs

Other major accounting firms in the Big Four group have also announced staff reductions in recent months. Earlier this year, Deloitte told its workforce that it would be cutting jobs within its advisory division. Despite saying that demand for its services is still strong overall, the firm explained that the layoffs were a response to slower growth in certain parts of the business, changing priorities from government clients, and fewer employees choosing to leave on their own.

KPMG, too, made similar moves. Back in November, it let go of about 330 employees in the U.S. At the time, the firm said the layoffs were necessary due to persistently low levels of employee attrition.