PwC Australia Lays Off 338 Employees
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) Australia announced significant job cuts on Wednesday, blaming them on a slowing economy and the fallout from a nationwide scandal involving leaked tax documents. These reductions are the result of a major audit client terminating its relationship with the firm.
This audit and consulting behemoth came under fire this year after it was revealed that a former partner had exposed government tax proposals and used them to secure contracts with international companies looking to restructure their tax operations in Australia.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for PwC Australia stated that the firm will lay off 338 employees due to the economic slowdown and the firm's reduced size as a result of the separation of its government consulting division during the height of the scandal.
Scyne Advisory, the new advisory firm, has taken on approximately 1,400 of PwC Australia's staff, out of a total workforce of over 9,000. The job cuts affect approximately 4 per cent of the firm's remaining 7,600 employees, and several individuals whose offers to transition to Scyne Advisory were withdrawn were among those affected.
A parallel series of job cuts is also taking place at the British company, with approximately 600 positions set to be eliminated. The tax plan controversy, which broke in January, led to the resignation of PwC Australia's CEO and several senior partners.
