PricewaterhouseCoopers sheds staff
"What the firm has done is considered what its core business is and restructured due to this recognition," said John Ross, a tax partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The firm has recognized its core business as accounting and professional services and outsourced other activities such as transportation and marketing, he said.
Both Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand had embarked on aggressive growth plans prior to the merger of the two companies, Ross said. The Russian crisis and its cooling effect on this and other emerging economies stymied some of the firms' planned expansion, particularly in the audit practice, he said.
Certain foreign investors have stepped back from this market to take some time to evaluate the situation, he said.
The layoffs were spread throughout several departments, including marketing, audit, tax and financial services departments, according to Ross and other company sources.
The company's Territorial Senior Partner John Jeffrey denied that any layoffs were taking place, though, arguing that the company has actually increased total staff from 857 on July 1, the date of the merger, to its current total of 1,029.
"There have been no layoffs," Jeffrey said. "There's been no restructuring."
Following the merger, the two companies had to "harmonize" their appraisal system, under which employees may be counseled to leave if they are not on partner track, Jeffrey said. Since this was completed about one month ago, more employees than normal may have been encouraged to leave recently.
He did not know how many individuals had been counseled to leave, but said that the company has a total staff turnover rate of about 20% annually.
"The Russian crisis did not affect us," Jeffrey said. "What has affected us and everybody else is that the world economy has cooled."
While competitor KPMG has not received an unduly heavy influx of resumes from PricewaterhouseCoopers' staff, the accounting firm has seen an increase in job inquiries over the past six months, said Greg Doyle, senior partner at KPMG.
"We've just seen increased activity from people at Price Waterhouse," Doyle said, adding that it's not more than would be expected following a merger.
Arthur Anderson, though, has not noticed any significant increase in applications from PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Marta Fita, PR director for Arthur Anderson.
The firm has recognized its core business as accounting and professional services and outsourced other activities such as transportation and marketing, he said.
Both Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand had embarked on aggressive growth plans prior to the merger of the two companies, Ross said. The Russian crisis and its cooling effect on this and other emerging economies stymied some of the firms' planned expansion, particularly in the audit practice, he said.
Certain foreign investors have stepped back from this market to take some time to evaluate the situation, he said.
The layoffs were spread throughout several departments, including marketing, audit, tax and financial services departments, according to Ross and other company sources.
The company's Territorial Senior Partner John Jeffrey denied that any layoffs were taking place, though, arguing that the company has actually increased total staff from 857 on July 1, the date of the merger, to its current total of 1,029.
"There have been no layoffs," Jeffrey said. "There's been no restructuring."
Following the merger, the two companies had to "harmonize" their appraisal system, under which employees may be counseled to leave if they are not on partner track, Jeffrey said. Since this was completed about one month ago, more employees than normal may have been encouraged to leave recently.
He did not know how many individuals had been counseled to leave, but said that the company has a total staff turnover rate of about 20% annually.
"The Russian crisis did not affect us," Jeffrey said. "What has affected us and everybody else is that the world economy has cooled."
While competitor KPMG has not received an unduly heavy influx of resumes from PricewaterhouseCoopers' staff, the accounting firm has seen an increase in job inquiries over the past six months, said Greg Doyle, senior partner at KPMG.
"We've just seen increased activity from people at Price Waterhouse," Doyle said, adding that it's not more than would be expected following a merger.
Arthur Anderson, though, has not noticed any significant increase in applications from PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Marta Fita, PR director for Arthur Anderson.
