Law firm Allen & Overy is expected to cut 450 jobs this year in a £44m restructure in response to the global recession.
The company told staff yesterday that it would reduce headcount by 9% by the end of this financial year. The cuts will affect up to 47 partners, 200 junior fee-earning lawyers and 250 support staff. About half of the losses are expected to be in London, according to newspaper reports.
The restructure also involves a reduced share of equity among 35 firm partners. Remaining partners will be asked to inject an average of £30,000 to raise the firm’s working capital by £11m.
Junior lawyers and support staff will have their salaries frozen until at least the end of 2009 and hourly fees charged to clients will be capped indefinitely.
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Research from Personnel Today’s sister organisation, pay specialist IRS, published today, found one-quarter of pay awards decided this year had resulted in pay freezes across the private and public sector.
Meanwhile, administrators have decided to cut 438 staff at JJB Sports loss-making LifeStyle division following the closure of 45 shops. KPMG said the remaining stores would continue to trade while a buyer was sought.
