Deloitte to seek 70 voluntary job cuts

ACCOUNTANCY FIRM Deloitte is to seek 70 voluntary redundancies, mostly from recently qualified staff, and pay cuts of up to 10…

ACCOUNTANCY FIRM Deloitte is to seek 70 voluntary redundancies, mostly from recently qualified staff, and pay cuts of up to 10 per cent from remaining employees.

The 70 jobs, which are the equivalent of about 6 per cent of its Irish workforce, will be cut from its Dublin, Cork and Limerick offices, following a “comprehensive review” of the business, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The recession has created a bottleneck of recently qualified accountants with between one and three years’ experience at the group and these members of staff will be the target of the redundancies.

Deloitte has announced at meetings with staff yesterday afternoon that it was cutting pay levels across the firm on a graduated basis of between 5 and 10 per cent, with the higher level applying to staff who earn more than €60,000.

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The firm is also offering financial incentives to staff who want to take leave of absence for periods of between three and 12 months.

“These changes are designed with the objective of maintaining employment for the greatest possible number of people,” the company said.

Deloitte said it would maintain its annual graduate recruitment programme in autumn 2009. The firm employs 1,200 people in Ireland.

The cuts follow an announcement last week by KPMG that it is to axe 10 per cent of its Irish workforce, or some 200 jobs.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics