Deloitte to close four regional offices
Deloitte will close four regional offices and give about 500 employees the option to work from home permanently as the consultant moves to cut costs.
The global accounting giant intends to close its offices in Gatwick, Liverpool, Nottingham and Southampton and offer staff at those locations a contract requiring them to work from home full time, the Financial Times reported. Deloitte did not say when the four offices would close.
The firm - one of the 'Big Four' auditors - also allowed the lease on its Newcastle office to expire during the pandemic but intends to retain a site in the city and is reviewing possible locations, it is understood.
The decision to close the offices follows speculation that firms with large amounts of office space could seek to reduce property costs after homeworking was proven to be viable through the coronavirus pandemic. It could signal a wider shift in working patterns of office-based workers.
Deloitte, which employs about 19,000 people in the UK, has been slower than some of its rival firms to bring employees back to the office after a switch to remote working amid the pandemic.
Stephen Griggs, managing partner of Deloitte UK, said: “Covid-19 has fast-tracked our future of work programme, leading us to review our real estate portfolio and how we use our offices across the UK, including London.
“Everyone based in these locations will continue to be employed by Deloitte and any proposed change is to our ‘bricks and mortar’, not our presence in these regions.
“We remain committed to these regional markets and will continue our close relationships with our clients, society partners and communities, just without a physical building.”
Deloitte has faced financial pressure during the pandemic and the firm’s profits available for distribution to partners fell more than 16pc to £518m in the 12 months to the end of May.
