E&Y cuts 40 jobs in insolvency

Ernst & Young is shedding 40 insolvency practitioners following weeks of speculation, after Accountancy Age revealed eight partners would be sacked at the end of July.

Numbering around a tenth of the total practice, headed by Alan Bloom, the staff will be lost from offices around the country in a move seen as a fundamental shift in the firm’s business goals away from smaller deals.

A spokesman for the firm said the reorganisation was a response to changes in the market that put an emphasis on restructuring rather than formal insolvency work. But an E&Y insolvency partner from one regional office said the moves were indicative of something more fundamental.

‘Investment is going into those areas of the business that have faster growth potential,’ he said. ‘The goalposts have changed and most of the people around the country did not expect this to happen.’

Some staff had already left in advance of the cuts. Numbers will be made up partly from voluntary redundancy and retirement though redundancies have not been ruled out.