Key facts
- PwC UK has made record cuts to its partner ranks, with 123 partners leaving in 2024.
- The firm has halted recruitment for its "flying start" tech apprenticeship scheme.
- The departures are aimed at protecting partner profits amid a decline in consulting demand.
- Growth at PwC's UK and Middle East divisions slowed to 9% in 2024.
- Marco Amitrano is leading an overhaul of UK operations, including a new AI unit.
PwC UK has significantly reduced its partner ranks and paused its tech apprenticeship program in an effort to protect partner profits amid a sharp decline in consulting demand. According to corporate filings, 123 partners left the firm in 2024, more than double the annual average since 2002. The company has also halted recruitment for its "flying start" tech apprenticeship scheme, which allowed students to receive a degree while working at PwC. Of the 91 students who completed the scheme last year, 27 were not offered permanent roles.
The firm is seeking to sustain an annual profit close to £1 million per partner despite a revenue decline. Other cost-saving measures, including silent layoffs, have also been implemented. The end-of-year departures, with 76 partners leaving on December 31, 2024, capped off a year that saw a larger than usual number of partners depart. In 2023 and 2022 combined, 103 partners left PwC's UK arm, while the firm appointed 225 new partners during those two years. Last year, 69 new partners were appointed, bringing the total active partners to 987 as of March 13, 2025.
Marco Amitrano, who took leadership of PwC's UK and Middle East operations in July, has initiated an overhaul of UK operations. This includes establishing a standalone technology and artificial intelligence unit and merging other business segments into six new teams. The firm's growth in its combined UK and Middle East divisions slowed by seven percentage points to 9% in 2024. PwC has not provided specific reasons for partner departures.