PwC UK has made record cuts to partners numbers and paused its tech apprenticeship scheme to protect partner profits, according to the Financial Times.
Some 123 partners left the Big 4 firm in 2024, that’s double the annual average for nearly the whole of the 2000s.
The FT reported that the PwC has also put a halt to its tech apprenticeship ‘flying start’ scheme. It said that 27 of the 91 degree students on the tech scheme were not offered permeant roles at the end of their course.
Among other cost-saving measures is the introduction of a new managing director title below partner level, and silent lay-offs, where employers are urged not to disclose why they have left the firm.
There is a definite squeeze on junior recruitment, which looks set to affect the 2025 recruitment round. Last year PwC’s graduate intake fell by 16% year-on-year.
They are not alone, however, with the Big 4 scaling back recruitment. KPMG, for instance, has reduced hires by 33%.
