Today is December 27, assuming there is no accounting firm in the entire country shitty enough to lay people off just days before the end of the year (a generous assumption), we should be able to tally up how many people were shown the door in 2023. These are U.S. numbers for Big 4 and mid-tier firms only, if we missed some get in touch. Also, these layoff numbers include only layoffs that were A) confirmed and B) counted by the firm as layoffs, meaning this year’s aggressive PIP usage and increased counseling outs are not among the totals.
Ready?
And the damage:
- EY: ~130 partners (December)
- Grant Thornton:Â 200 (November)
- Baker Tilly: 180 (June)
- RSM: ? At least 20 (June)
- KPMG: 700 (June)
- Grant Thornton: 300 (May)
- Deloitte: 1200 (April)
- EY: 3000 (April)
- BDO USA: 85 (March)
- KPMG:Â ~2000 (February)
Considering what a rough year it was for the economy (though not necessarily firm revenue), it could have been a whole lot worse. Still bad. If attrition starts creeping up to normal levels as it looks like it might be, we don’t anticipate large personnel shake-ups in at least the first part of 2024. Though firms can always surprise us! Calling it now, if anyone does it’s going to be EY.
Stay billable, friends.
