PwC lays off 1,800 employees in U.S.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is laying off 1,800 employees in its U.S. firm in a sign of further retrenchment among the Big Four firms.

"To remain competitive and position our business for the future, we are continuing to transform areas of our firm and are aligning our workforce to better support our strategy, including attracting and moving the right talent and skill sets to the areas where we need them most," said PwC US chief operating officer Tim Grady in a statement. "Right now, we are focused on running our business well and adapting to meet the needs of our clients and the rapidly changing market."

The cutbacks are PwC US's first formal layoffs since 2009, apart from a 2017 restructuring that led to some departures, and will affect 2.5% of the workforce in the U.S. firm, according ​to The Wall Street Journal. 

The New York-based firm reorganized in April under its new senior partner, Paul Griggs, who  realigned its organizational structure across three lines of service — Assurance, Tax and Advisory — starting in July, only about three years after it restructured into two sides: Trust Solutions and Consulting Solutions. PwC US also added a new operating committee to run the firm.

Griggs sent a memo to staff on Wednesday, describing the changes, according to the WSJ. "There will be an element of resource action that will impact a relatively small proportion of our people, something that is never easy," said Griggs. 

PwC firms in the U.K., Australia and Canada have also cut jobs over the past year, in part due to the high interest rate environment that has hampered the consulting business and a tax scandal in Australia that involved the sharing of a confidential government document with clients. Other Big Four firms such as EY, KPMG and Deloitte have also been forced to lay off staff and delay hire dates.

PwC is expected to pare back its lineup of products as well as restructure its product and technology teams.