It’s the kind of detail that people remember years later: the call came at noon on a Wednesday. The day before, a few staff members at KPMG’s US advisory practice received the calendar invite without an agenda, which is typically all you need to know. Approximately 400 consultants were informed that their positions had been eliminated by the end of the meeting. The majority of them were employed in financial services, customer operations, or regulatory risk advisory—divisions that had been silently slowing down for months.
Although it would be tempting to describe this as shocking, it isn’t. Anyone observing the consulting sector over the past 12 months could sense a tightening. Following the pandemic, big businesses appeared to be willing to spend nearly anything on risk frameworks, cloud migrations, transformation, and compliance. A long time ago, that wave broke. Clients have been asking more pointed questions about what they are truly receiving for the hourly rate, renegotiating fees, and postponing projects.
| KPMG — Quick Profile | Details |
|---|---|
| Firm Name | KPMG International |
| Founded | 1987 (merger of KMG and Peat Marwick International) |
| Named After | Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, Goerdeler |
| Global Presence | Operates across 142 countries |
| Total Employees Worldwide | Approximately 276,000 |
| US Advisory Headcount | More than 10,000 |
| Recent Layoffs (US Advisory) | Around 400 (≈4%) |
| Other Cuts | 10% of US audit partners; federal audit practice closing |
| Affected Areas | Regulatory risk advisory, customer operations, financial services |
| FY 2025 Combined Revenue | $39.8 billion |
| Still Hiring In | AI transformation, cybersecurity, engineering roles |
| Industry Group | Big Four (with Deloitte, EY, PwC) |
The smallest of the Big Four, KPMG, is carrying out the actions of the others, albeit in smaller quantities. It has lost about 4% of its US advisory staff. It has expelled about 10% of its US audit partners. The complete closure of the federal audit practice, which included a significant Army engagement, is a startling decision for a company that established a reputation for government work. It seems that instead of spreading the suffering over three quarters, the leadership chose to absorb it in one.
The fact that KPMG isn’t shrinking everywhere is what makes the situation peculiar. The company is still looking for engineers and AI experts, especially those who can create the kinds of agentic tools that customers frequently inquire about but seldom comprehend. The field of cybersecurity is also expanding. The majority of the cuts are in areas where regulation was meant to continue creating an endless amount of work. Rather, the need for regulatory consulting has decreased, perhaps as a result of the Trump administration’s repeal of some federal regulations, which has lessened the urgency of compliance build-outs. Businesses may be just cutting everything else and allocating their resources to AI projects.
Additionally, there is the issue of attrition. Big businesses typically rely on a consistent percentage of their employees quitting on their own, which allows them to control headcount without making unpleasant announcements. That is no longer the case. People are staying put, the professional services job market has stiffened, and all of a sudden the math doesn’t work. When the math doesn’t work, businesses continue to do what they always do. They make cuts.
Russ Grote, a spokesman for KPMG, described the actions as a “strategic realignment,” a term used by all firms in similar situations. Although it rarely does, the phrase is supposed to calm. The realignment feels intimate to the consultants who are packing up their laptops. It poses a more subdued question for their clients: what does it mean when those who counsel others on transformation are undergoing their own transformation against their will?
As this develops, it’s difficult to avoid wondering if the consulting model—which includes billable hours, large bench teams, and endless decks—is pushing the boundaries of what AI can handle. KPMG won’t publicly state that. They won’t. However, the partner reductions, the closed federal practice, and the layoffs all suggest that a profession is silently attempting to determine its future.
