EY confirms 148 jobs gone in mass redundancy round across Oceania

Accounting firm EY has moved on a round of redundancies across its Australian operations that will see 148 people working in consulting and financial services out of a job. EY’s regional managing partner and chief executive for Oceania David Larocca said the firm had communicated the “difficult decision” to staff this morning, and that it came amid a continued downturn in demand for consulting services. “This morning we communicated the difficult decision that redundancies are required in some parts of our business, resulting in 148 of our people leaving EY Oceania,” he said. “These redundancies are mainly across Consulting and Financial Services, areas of our business that have been particularly affected by the continued downturn in demand.” It’s understood less than 10 jobs have gone from WA operations, which is spearheaded by local partner Fiona Drummond. The West Australian reported last week the firm was gearing up to slash more than 100 jobs across Australia. EY employs about 10,000 people in Australia. Mr Larocca said the firm was “offering all the support we can” to people who were leaving the business. “We thank them for their valuable contribution to our business and wish them the best for the next step in their careers,” he said. “This decision will in no way impact our focus on building a safe and inclusive workplace for all. We remain absolutely committed to delivering on all the recommendations of the Elizabeth Broderick & Co report, and to investing in our culture transformation.” The round of redundancies comes just weeks after Deloitte announced it had made a “small number” of its own job cuts across the firm’s national operations. The firm did not reveal how many roles were made redundant at the time. The 148 job cuts at EY add to the tally of about 230 that reportedly took place at the firm in November last year. Fellow professional services firm PwC dished out about 400 redundancies at the start of March following a post-tax leaks scandal review. PwC’s governance shortcomings that surfaced in 2023 have since cast a long shadow over Australia’s professionals services sector. The firm was eviscerated by a Senate inquiry, which lashed its leadership and culture. The sector as a whole has been working to rebuild its reputation in the eyes of the Australian public since.