Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Financial servicesLatest NewsProfessional servicesLearning & developmentTraining delivery

KPMG to cut UK internal training team

by Adam McCulloch 7 Nov 2019
by Adam McCulloch 7 Nov 2019 Photo: Nando Machado / Shutterstock.com
Photo: Nando Machado / Shutterstock.com

KPMG this week signalled it is to slash its internal training team, which runs staff training for thousands of UK employees, with up to 75 jobs at risk.

According to the Evening Standard, Carrie Dunn, head of UK HR at KPMG, wrote to employees on the “learning deployment operations” (LDO) team in Watford informing them that their work would now be carried out by 30 staff in Leeds. Other aspects of the team’s work would be outsourced to India. Another, unnamed, source told the newspaper that about 75 roles were at risk.

The cuts come on top of the shedding of more than 200 administrative staff meaning that some partners will no longer have access to a personal assistant. Partners in non-client facing roles are being encouraged to file their own expenses, and administrative assistants surviving the cull will see their job titles altered to “executive assistant”.

KPMG

KPMG partners leave firm after WhatsApp probe

Hiring in UK declines at fastest rate for three years

Accountancy firms lag behind business on diversity

KPMG, however, has denied the Evening Standard and Financial Times’ claim that it planned to axe 65 of its UK partners, amounting to one-tenth of senior roles, with a spokesperson explaining that this level of loss of partners, and the appointment of new ones, was perfectly normal: “This year we have appointed 50 new partners and 200 new directors, across all parts of our business.

“In a typical year around the same number of partners will retire from the firm, often going on to senior roles elsewhere in both the private and public sector.”

On the cut in admin roles the spokesperson said: “We are not taking these steps lightly, but we believe the proposed structure will enable us to deliver the best possible experience for our clients. We are now in the process of consulting with affected staff on the plans.”

In an email sent to training team staff, seen by the Evening Standard, Dunn wrote “I know that every single person in LDO wants to do a good job and it is important that we continue business as usual for our clients. Today’s announcement is nothing to do with performance, rather it’s everything to do with the changing world of work and the way we need to work differently to best serve our clients.”

A KPMG spokesperson added: “We are transforming our UK business. As part of this process we have reviewed the way we deliver learning and development to our people and subject to consultation, we are proposing to move learning deployment operations to our Leeds office.”

The firm added that it was increasing investment so it could deliver the “best possible learning experience to our people”. It said it was now in the process of consulting with affected staff on the plans.

Overall, KPMG is pursuing about 150 cost cutting measures as it looks to preserve its profits. The programme launched in October, called Project Zebra, aims to save £100m and has also included recalling corporate mobile phones from some employees, the sale of its pensions arms for more than £200m, plans to move its market and sales team from Canary Wharf to Reading and the possible closure of its five-storey Mayfair private members’ club. It is also investing £200m in its audit practice.

The firm has suffered reputational damage in recent times after being hit by fines from the Financial Reporting Council for its client work with Co-operative Bank and BNY Mellon, criticism from the watchdog of its own audits, a corruption scandal in South Africa and its involvement in the collapse of Carillion.

Additionally, it has recently lost three senior staff in a dispute over misuse of WhatsApp and allegations of inappropriate behaviour and bullying.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Personnel Today has contacted KPMG for a comment on the restructuring.

HR opportunities in Accountancy, Banking, Finance and Insurance on Personnel Today

Browse more HR opportunities in Accountancy, Banking, Finance and Insurance

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
One worker in three considers leaving their job because of stress
next post
Shorter City trading day would ‘boost diversity and work-life balance’

You may also like

Investing in skills when budgets are tight

12 May 2025

Leading with honest feedback: A responsibility in recruitment

24 Apr 2025

High-level apprenticeship spend doubles in five years

16 Apr 2025

Number of SMEs hiring staff in decline

10 Apr 2025

Gen Z and ‘conscious unbossing’: how can HR...

7 Apr 2025

How to build a commercially-minded workforce

3 Apr 2025

Why the apprenticeship shakeup is good news for...

20 Mar 2025

Scrapping NHS England could affect critical training, warn...

14 Mar 2025

Employee engagement: Growing disconnect between effort and recognition,...

13 Mar 2025

Schneider Electric doubles ex-military green skills scheme

13 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+