McKinsey slashes hundreds of jobs in technology practices

Global consulting giant McKinsey & Company has announced it will lay off approximately 360 employees worldwide in response to a slowdown in the consulting sector.

The new round of cuts comes after the firm – which has over the years grown into a business with 45,000 staff in 130+ offices across 65+ countries – previously purged 1,400 jobs in its support and back-end teams last year.

The latest round will not affect the firms’ traditional consulting business, with axing to reportedly to take place in the data engineering, cloud, software, and design divisions.

The positions being eliminated reportedly constitute around 3% of the 12,000 or so employees who are considered technology specialists. They support clients with IT work such as cloud, systems migrations and architecture, and lend support to the firm’s strategy consultants on digital topics.

“We invest to grow capabilities that match our clients' priorities, and adjust the size of a small number of others as appropriate,” said a spokesperson from McKinsey, addressing news of the layoffs.

“As part of this process, some roles will be eliminated within this small number of capabilities. We will ensure departing colleagues receive support both during and after their transition.”

The news comes at a time of a slowdown in consultant hiring, with clients downsizing their discretionary spending in response to challenges such as inflation geopolitics, and the impacts of two wars in Europe and the Middle East.

This environment has seen several consultancies trim their headcount, including all four of the Big Four, while many have deterred starting dates of new joiners, put poor performers on notice, or stimulated staff to take extended leave. Most of these austerity measures have focused on North American and European markets, however, with the Middle East showing little signs of slowdown.

A recent report from Source Global Research found that the GCC consulting market is set to expand 11% and exceed $6 billion in revenue this year, as economic diversification strategies and giga projects boost demand for services.

McKinsey, one of the ‘MBB’ strategy consultancies alongside arch rivals Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company, recorded $16 billion of revenue last year. The firm has been one of most prestigious picks for governments and major companies around the world that need groundbreaking solutions to pressing issues.

In the Middle East, McKinsey ranks as the market leader for both strategic and management consulting services.