McKinsey to trim work force by 5-7%

New York, Nov 27: Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. is cutting its US and Canadian support staff by 5 per cent to 7 per cent this fall, as it feels the pinch from the steep slowdown in the consulting industry, a company spokesman said.

The privately held firm, which has about 13,000 employees is slashing roughly 210 out of its 3,000 support staff positions in the United States and Canada as demand for its consulting services drops in the weakening economy, said a McKinsey spokesman.

“It’s basically balancing the number of people with the workload,” said the spokesman. “We are not immune to the economy.”
The move comes as several other consulting firms, such as Accenture and KPMG Consulting, lay off employees in response to a sharply slowing economy that is now officially in a recession, cutting demand for hi-tech and management consulting services.

The Sept 11 attacks dealt another sharp blow to consulting companies, but McKinsey said its efforts to trim its ranks were underway much before the attacks. After years of heady growth during the days of the DoT-Comboom, McKinsey is also dealing with a drop in its attrition rate, or the number of staffers leaving voluntarily.

— Reuters