McKinsey to cut 2,000 jobs in one of its biggest layoffs

Consulting giant McKinsey & Co is planning to cut about 2,000 jobs, in one of its biggest rounds of layoffs.

A report said the move is expected to focus on support staff who do not have direct contact with clients of the company, known for advising businesses on a variety of projects including layoffs.

"We are redesigning the way our non-client-serving teams operate for the first time in more than a decade, so that these teams can effectively support and scale with our firm," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The report said the layoffs are a part of Project Magnolia, which the consulting firm hopes will help preserve the compensation pool of its partners. It added that McKinsey is looking to restructure how it organises its support teams to centralise some of the roles.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that KPMG was cutting close to 2 per cent of its workforce in the United States, a move which made it the first of the world's four biggest accountancy firms to slash jobs in the country.