KPMG to axe 200 jobs

Up to 200 jobs are being axed at leading business consultancy and auditing firm KPMG, it emerged today.

Bosses at the leading financial advice company detailed cuts to staff at a meeting in the Mansion House in Dublin and warned accountants would be worst hit.

It is believed more than 20 jobs will go in Belfast and the rest at KPMG offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

“The redundancies will, in the main, impact on recently qualified accountants and on support services staff,” KPMG said in a statement.

“It will also impact, but to a significantly lesser extent, on professional staff in the firm’s transaction based businesses.”

The compulsory redundancies will be finalised over the next two to three months and management also warned they expect support staff to be affected.

However, KPMG insisted no trainees will be laid off and the cuts will not impact the 250 graduates joining the firm this autumn or plans to recruit from colleges next year.

Staff being kept on will be hit with pay cuts – a 5% drop for those earning less than €35,000 while anyone above €35,000 will see their wages come down by 10%.

“The firm’s graduate trainee programme is and will remain critical to the firm’s future success,” a spokesman said.

“The firm acknowledges the significant contribution of all of its people to the firm’s success and fully appreciates the impact of the measures on its employees.

“The firm has worked hard to minimise the number of redundancies and regrets having to take these measures – announced only after very careful consideration.”

KPMG is one of Ireland’s leading financial advisers, serving both the public and private sector. The business has 84 partners and 2,000 staff in offices around the country.

Its worldwide business offers audit, tax and advisory services in 144 countries and has 137,000 staff in member firms around the world.

Meanwhile, staff at US eye care firm Bausch & Lomb in Waterford city were being briefed on a possible 200 job cuts at the flagship plant.

The 1,400 workers were put on a shorter working time at the end of January, taking one week’s unpaid leave every month, but speculation has mounted that the latest talks are aimed at reducing the workforce through voluntary redundancies.

Weekend, day and night workers will be briefed at separate meetings and unions will meet company bosses at 1pm.

A spokesman for Bausch & Lomb said meetings had been planned from midday and running up until 5pm tomorrow evening allowing workers to hear redundancy plans first hand.

Bausch & Lomb opened its Waterford facility in 1980 and is one of the biggest employers in the south-east. The company is one of the world’s leading suppliers of eye health products including contact lenses.