London, May 6, 2026, 12:14 (BST)
KPMG is facing staff anger in Britain over how it has handled a redundancy round, adding a workplace-communications problem to a wider cost-cutting push at the Big Four firm. City A.M. reported on Wednesday that employees within scope of the UK consultation had complained about poor internal messaging, while a KPMG spokesperson said the firm “continues to support our people throughout the consultations.” City AM
The timing matters. The UK complaints landed after KPMG’s U.S. arm moved to cut about 4% of its advisory business, reduce audit partner ranks and wind down federal audit work, turning separate payroll moves into a broader test of the firm’s post-pandemic staffing model.
KPMG UK had already set out plans to cut more than 500 jobs, including about 440 audit assistant manager roles and 120 roles in advisory, its consulting-type business. The firm linked the UK audit cuts to low attrition — the rate at which staff leave on their own — and current market conditions.
That is the squeeze. KPMG’s UK-Swiss group reported £3.6 billion in revenue for the year to Sept. 30, 2025, with profit before tax up 14% to £576 million, but advisory revenue fell 3% even as audit grew 5%. Jon Holt, group chief executive and UK senior partner, said the “outlook remains challenging” and that the firm was investing in technology to help clients “transform with AI.” KPMG
In the United States, KPMG cut about 400 consultants in advisory, with roles in regulatory risk advisory, customer operations and financial services among those hit, Business Insider reported. Tim Walsh, KPMG U.S. chair and chief executive, had previously told the publication that workers needed to adopt AI tools because “it’s critical to your success in the future.” Business Insider
KPMG is also exiting its U.S. federal government audit business. The firm told Reuters it would redeploy federal audit professionals through a multi-year process, after the Financial Times reported that more than 450 U.S. staff would be moved following the loss of a $60 million-a-year Pentagon contract.
Bloomberg Tax reported that KPMG staff learned last week of roughly 400 advisory cuts, the firm’s second U.S. round in a week, as demand softened for regulatory compliance work and voluntary departures stayed low. KPMG said the changes would let it reinvest in growing parts of audit, advisory and tax, adding that “Disruption creates significant opportunities.” Bloomberg Tax
The problem is not confined to KPMG. PwC, EY and Deloitte have also faced job losses or weaker consulting trends in the UK, while James Ransome, head of consulting at Patrick Morgan, told City A.M. that the sector faces a “demand slowdown” and “structural pressure” from fee compression, AI and new pricing models. City AM
KPMG’s own global numbers still show a firm growing in aggregate. KPMG International reported $39.8 billion in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, with advisory up 2.9%, audit up 6.0%, tax and legal up 7.5%, and global headcount rising 1.8% to 276,030.
But the risk is plain enough: cuts may protect margins faster than they rebuild trust. If clients keep trimming outside consulting spend, KPMG could face more pressure in slower advisory lines; if demand for AI, cyber and managed services accelerates, it may need to hire scarce specialists while convincing remaining staff the firm has a clear path.
For now, KPMG is trying to do both — cut in weaker pockets and shift people and capital toward higher-growth work. The staff complaints show the harder part may be doing that without making a large professional services firm feel less stable to the people inside it.
