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(CONFIRMED) Layoff Watch ’20: Did This Top 35 Accounting Firm Just Lay Off a Bunch of People Too?

Posted on by Jason Bramwell

[Updated with additional information about the layoffs at Weaver.]

The other night while I was trying to get some more information about the layoffs at Crowe and Baker Tilly, we got a tip saying that another top accounting firm had just laid off 60 employees. I hadn’t seen these layoffs discussed on Reddit or Fishbowl, so I wasn’t sure if they were just your typical mid-April headcount reductions or if the current economic downturn caused by coronavirus forced this firm’s hand.

Well I got a little more information about the layoffs Thursday evening and that they indeed happened at Weaver, the 35th largest accounting firm in the U.S.

Here’s what a source told us last night:

Weaver laid off 60-70 employees across multiple service lines and offices. This was a cashflow reduction measure in anticipation of business being impacted by COVID. Individuals and the survivors were told 3/31, with the layoffs effective 4/1.

Minimal severance (2 weeks) offered. Associates & senior associates took the brunt of it. They refused to provide info on how they selected individuals — it wasn’t based on performance reviews or tenure.

Our source added that remaining staff won’t have their pay cut, but supposedly partners will have 50% of their cash distributions delayed temporarily in the coming months.

When I made my original post late Thursday afternoon, I didn’t feel comfortable mentioning that the firm in question was Weaver because I hadn’t been able to confirm the layoffs. But like I did last week when I was trying to find out more information about the layoffs at Mazars USA and Elliott Davis, I offered some easy clues to help you guys guess the name of the firm so we could get confirmation that these layoffs happened.

Here were the clues:

  • Clue 1: This firm is based in Houston and has 12 offices in the U.S.
  • Clue 2: Rhymes with “beaver.”
  • Clue 3: Guess the “XXXX”: The last name of Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles manager Earl XXXX (see photo above).
  • Clue 4: Guess the “XXXX”: Gary Wright sang the song “Dream XXXX.”

There’s probably an easier clue I could have given, like a student taking a college class in underwater basket something or another, but I’m fairly certain you guys could figure out the name of this firm.

Got more information about the layoffs? Let us know by sending us a text or email using the contact info below.

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