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

[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.

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