EY US to slash headcount days after nixing split

Ernst & Young’s US arm said on Monday it was shedding 5 per cent of its workforce, less than a week after the unit’s objection torpedoed the global accounting giant’s plan to break up its audit and consulting units.

The layoffs will affect around 3,000 of the company’s US employees.

The decision was taken after assessing the impact of current economic conditions, strong employee retention rates and “overcapacity” in parts of the company, EY US said.

After months of trying to woo partners, London-based EY last week called off a proposed overhaul of its businesses that was meant to address regulatory concerns over potential conflicts of interest after its US Executive Committee decided not to ratify the plan.

Corporate America has been hit by a wave of layoffs after the Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening yanked the economy out of pandemic-era exuberance.

Among EY’s “Big Four” peers, KPMG is reportedly laying off some staff. Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are also part of the Big Four.

EY’s layoffs were first reported by the Financial Times, which said the cuts would chiefly affect the consulting business.