BRITISH accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) plans to cut up to 600 jobs in the UK due to falling attrition rates, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The firm will launch a voluntary redundancy programme for 500-600 people but will cut jobs on a compulsory basis if not enough people opt to leave, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The job cuts, affecting up to 2.4 per cent of the 25,000 workforce, will be directed mainly at PwC’s advisory business with a small number in the tax department also set to be affected, the report said, adding that the audit division would not be hit.

PwC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company’s attrition rate, or the percentage of staff leaving each year, has fallen 5 percentage points in recent months and is now hovering at about 10 per cent, the report added.

Last month, Reuters reported that KPMG was planning to cut about 100 jobs in its deal advisory business in the UK. Deloitte is also planning to cut more than 800 jobs in the UK.

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Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PwC make up the big four accounting firms. REUTERS