KPMG cuts 400 US advisors

Consulting is supposed to be the flexible part of a Big Four firm. When clients want help, headcount rises fast. When projects slow, firms usually hope attrition does the cleanup. KPMG just showed what happens when that doesn’t work. On Wednesday, April 29, it cut roughly 400 people from its U.S. advisory business — about 4% of the practice — because demand has softened in some of the work that boomed when regulation was moving faster. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### What actually got cut? These were advisory jobs, not a broad firmwide layoff. The reductions were aimed at slower-growing parts of KPMG’s private-sector consulting business — especially risk services and work tied to customer-service and operations modernization. Other reporting on the same move says the pressure was heaviest in regulatory risk, customer operations, and financial-services advisory. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### Why now? The short version is demand cooled, but people didn’t leave fast enough. KPMG said low voluntary turnover contributed to the decision. That matters because consulting firms plan staffing around a certain amount of natural churn. If clients buy fewer projects and employees stay put, the math breaks. (news.bloombergtax.com)s work was tied to helping clients respond to government requirements. That market weakens when the pace of regulatory change slows. KPMG has seen less demand for compliance-related support, especially in financial services, as the update cycle has cooled. Basically, if fewer rules are changing, fewer clients need armies of consultants to interpret and implement them. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### Is KPMG shrinking everywhere? No — and that is the important part. KPMG said some consulting lines are still growing, especially AI, cybersecurity, and managed services. The firm framed the layoffs as a reallocation, not a retreat: cut slower pockets, reinvest in faster ones, and push people to upskill where possible. That tells you this is less “consulting is dead” and more “the mix of consulting work is changing fast.” (news.bloombergtax.com) ### What else is happening at KPMG? This was KPMG’s second round of U.S. job cuts in a week. It also said it is phasing out audit work for U.S. federal agencies through a multi-year process, while shifting attention toward public-sector advisory and private-company audit work. More than 400 employees on those federal audit contracts are expected to be reassigned rather than cut. Last week, the firm also moved to reduce its U.S. audit partner ranks by about 10%. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### Why does this matter beyond KPMG? Because KPMG is not some tiny boutique making a one-off correction. It is one of the Big Four, and these firms are a decent read on what large companies are still willing to buy. Right now, plain-vanilla regulatory and operations work looks weaker, while AI and cyber work still gets budget. That is a useful signal for consultants, clients, and smaller firms trying to hire. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### What does it mean for consultants? More experienced people are about to hit the market from exactly the areas where demand looks softest. That usually means tougher competition for similar roles elsewhere and more pressure to reposition around AI, cyber, or managed services. The catch is that not every risk or operations consultant can make that jump quickly. Skills transfer is real — but not automatic. (news.bloombergtax.com) ### Bottom line? KPMG’s 400 cuts are a reminder that consulting demand did not just slow — it rotated. The work tied to compliance and legacy transformation is wobbling, while AI-heavy and tech-enabled services keep pulling investment. For anyone in the industry, that is the real story.