PwC cuts 47 staff in latest tax leaks fallout
PwC Australia has cut almost 50 roles, or 0.5 per cent of its 10,000-strong workforce, during the past week as the firm retreats to core audit, management consulting and tax compliance triggered by its ongoing tax leaks scandal.
Twenty-five roles were cut from the firm’s financial advisory, legal and energy transition businesses. The remaining cuts were from consulting and assurance.
In an email to staff in the financial advisory sector of PwC, deals leader Rob Silverwood said the cuts were being made “where our business focus has changed”.
“We recognise that this is a challenging time for those affected and care for our people is paramount,” he wrote.
The cuts are about a quarter of the 200 made by big four rival KPMG Australia earlier in the year. The relatively small number of job cuts shows that PwC business continues to perform in its commercial operations.
PwC is expected to report that revenue modestly grew this financial year despite the scandal. The firm expects to post FY2023 revenue of about $3 billion, a result that would be up more than 6 per cent from last year’s $2.8 billion.
The staff redundancies are being made as PwC also forces dozens of partners to retire early and slashes future partner income by 20 per cent.
PwC is in final negotiations to sell for $1 its government, health, infrastructure, defence and risk consulting business to private equity investor Allegro Funds. The parties had originally hoped to seal a deal by Friday, the end of the financial year.
The sale is designed to save the jobs of the firm’s 1500 public sector consultants that have been left with little to do in what was once a business worth an estimated $250 million in revenue.
Many PwC staff members will not be given an option to
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