KPMG Australia Axes 360 Employees and 27 Partners in Sweeping Restructure

KPMG Australia will cut 27 partners and about 360 employees, roughly 5% of its workforce, as revenue slips and the firm absorbs the fallout from allegations that it misused confidential client information.

Chief Executive John Sams said most of the affected roles are in the consulting arm, where client demand has weakened. The firm will also merge several teams and align them more closely with KPMG’s global advisory business.

Revenue Slides as Consulting Demand Weakens

According to the firm, total revenue for the year ended June 30 reached A$2.257 billion, down 1% on the prior period. Consulting revenue fell 16.9%. The firm attributed this to soft market conditions and reduced government use of consultants.

Four of the five divisions still grew. Audit and assurance rose 11%, tax and legal climbed 10.9%, mid-market and private gained 6.4%, and deal advisory and infrastructure added 3%.

Consulting nonetheless remains the largest division by revenue at A$632 million. The Big Four firm cited economic weakness, challenging market conditions, and the fallout from its own conduct and whistleblower cases among the factors behind the layoffs.

“This is not a decision that has been taken lightly, and we know it will have a very real impact on people,” Sams said.

The pressure dates back to March, when Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill, who chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, told the Senate that a whistleblower alleged that confidential Lendlease board papers were used to pursue audit tenders.

Commercial consequences followed quickly. In June, KPMG said it had voluntarily agreed not to bid for new Commonwealth work until an independent Department of Finance review concludes, which the firm expects by the end of September. That statement acknowledged that individuals within the firm had made mistakes.

Alongside the cuts, the firm is moving its mid-market and private deals team into deal advisory and infrastructure, and its advisory team into consulting.

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2026 Layoffs Stretch Well Beyond One Sector

KPMG is not an outlier when it comes to job cuts. Layoffs.fyi recorded 127,180 technology job losses across 264 companies in 2026 so far. That already exceeds the 122,606 cuts logged by the tracker across all of 2025.

The reductions span software, retail, media, and professional services. Oracle disclosed a headcount drop of roughly 21,000 over its financial year in an annual report. Zillow, Google, Etsy, and TikTok all announced cuts in August.

Artificial intelligence (AI) explains part of the shift, though not all of it. Uber cut 10% of its customer service staff in July and tied the decision directly to an AI efficiency push. India’s largest private lender, HDFC Bank, ended its March financial year with 3,343 fewer employees.

Crypto firms have trimmed for different reasons. Bitwise cut roughly 14% of its workforce this month as market conditions soured, leaving headcount near 155. Coinbase removed 700 roles earlier this year.

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