Deloitte Announces 800 Job Cuts With Graduate Roles Hit Hardest

Top business school employer Deloitte will cut 800 jobs among its UK workforce, with graduate roles among the hardest hit

Deloitte ranks among the most prestigious and desirable employers for business school grads, however it’s graduates who are among the worst hit in a new wave of job cuts announced by the firm.

Deloitte announced it will cut 800 jobs from its UK workforce, amounting to around 3% of the 27,000 strong British staff. Earlier this year Deloitte announced a similar wave of cuts among US employees, while the firm also delayed start dates for new MBA hires over the summer.

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re in response to a slowdown in demand for consulting and professional services. During the pandemic, demand rose rapidly causing headcounts to balloon among the Big Four firms, KPMG, EY, PwC, and Deloitte.

Now, with demand slowing, the firms are being forced to reduce headcounts. At Deloitte, it is junior consulting roles that are worst affected. Around 19% of cuts will be juniors, amounting to 150 first and second year consultants, as first reported by the Financial Times.

The bulk of cuts will be focused in the enterprise technology and performance arm of Deloitte’s UK consulting practice. Among 74 first year graduates, 18 are reportedly set for redundancy, while it’s the same story for 85 of the 218 second year graduates working in the division.

Another consultancy subdivision, human capital management, is set for a string of graduate cuts. Among 51 first year graduates, 18 are slated to be made redundant, while 27 of the 121 second year graduates among the division will also be cut. In total 45 out of 172 human capital management grads will lose their jobs according to current plans.

The current cohort of graduates who joined the firm in September 2023 will not be subjected to cuts.

In a statement, Richard Houston, Deloitte chief executive, said: "This follows a slowdown in growth, which, combined with the ongoing economic uncertainty, means we have to consider the shape of our business and may mean we have to make some difficult decisions.

“I fully understand this is an unsettling time for those people affected and we will be doing everything we can to support individuals with care and respect," he added.

As one of the prestigious Big Four firms, Deloitte remains one of the highest paying employers of business school grads who enter consulting. Other lucrative options include joining one of the MBB consulting firms, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group—all of which increased MBA consulting salaries in 2023.