EY and Deloitte are scrutinizing staff workloads and quietly letting some workers go

Angle down iconAn icon in the shape of an angle pointing down. Big Four firms have cut hundreds of jobs in the past year. Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

• Big Four firms are paying close attention to employee workloads, especially time spent with clients.
• Employees with limited client work are at risk of losing their jobs at the firms, per The Times. 
• These firms have been cutting jobs as client demand slows.

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The Big Four have been shedding staff to cut costs in recent months. Now they’re scrutinizing employee workloads and letting go of "underemployed" staff, The Times of London reported.

EY and Deloitte are among the Big Four firms that are amping up inspections of workloads, especially time spent with clients, sources familiar with the matter told The Times.

These performance-related firings are separate from company layoffs, they said, and are mostly impacting the consultancy arm of these companies.

The two firms are measuring employee “utilization rates,” which look at time sheets and work schedules to show how much time staff is spent working with clients.

Employees working with clients are considered “utilized.” Those who aren’t working with clients are considered “on the bench” and instead work on internal programs, The Times wrote.

The sources said that the utilization rates could also show which employees aren’t putting themselves forward for big money-making engagements.

EY told Business Insider in a statement that it has "well-established performance management processes" that look at a variety of metrics. 

“While utilisation can be an indicator of an individual's wider performance, it is never considered in isolation,” it said in the statement. 

Deloitte did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The Big Four firms, which include EY, Deloitte, PWC, and KPMG, have cut hundreds of jobs in the past year amid a challenging economic climate.

Deloitte announced plans in September to cut 800 jobs and a further 100 in February across its UK consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory business. 

Meanwhile, EY cut at least 300 roles in the UK in 2023 across several areas of its business, including its advisory business. 

Analysts say these cuts and harsher performance metrics are partly due to the firms overhiring after the COVID-19 pandemic and low levels of attrition in recent years, which means many employees have stayed put because of fewer opportunities in the job market. 

Additionally, slowing client demand means there isn’t enough work to go around for all employees. 

Consulting firm McKinsey is also facing the consequences of its pandemic-era hiring spree.

It recently gave 3,000 staff poor performance reviews, which are internally known as "concerns," according to Bloomberg.

Employees who receive these ratings are typically told they have about three months to turn it around or be "counseled to leave" the company, per Bloomberg.