Deloitte Layoffs: Firm Cuts 7 Percent Of Its Australia Workforce Due To COVID-19

The global consulting giant’s Australia business had tried to avert layoffs in April as it imposed pay cuts and changes to its annual leave policy.

Not long after announcing significant layoffs in the U.S., Deloitte is cutting 7 percent of its workforce in Australia as the coronavirus pandemic continues to roil the business world.

The global consulting titan’s Australia job cuts were announced on Monday, months after the firm attempted to avert layoffs in the country by instituting an 8 percent short-term pay cut for most of its employees and changing its annual leave policy. The Australian Financial Review first reported the news on Monday.

“Whilst revenue has grown for the financial year by 10%, the firm had experienced a significant decline in its revenue base across Q4 as a result of COVID-19 impacts, including a decline of 19% year on year in May 2020,” Deloitte said in a media release.

The new level of revenue is expected to continue for at least the first quarter of the new fiscal year, Deloitte said.

Deloitte Australia has 8,000 employees and 790 partners, according to its website.

The company said that the cuts in Australia would affect “most business units and internal client service departments, with greater reductions in the consulting and advisory parts of the business. There will be no staff reductions in our external audit practice.”

“The health, safety and well-being of our people are central to our purpose and values as a firm, so this has not been an easy day. We are committed to work with our people that are leaving us in a way that shows genuine empathy and care for their situation,” Deloitte Australia CEO Richard Deutsch said in a statement.

Last month, CRN reported that Deloitte would lay off 5 percent of its U.S. workforce—affecting as many as 5,300 employees —as a result of the pandemic.