Management consulting firm McKinsey & Co plans to cut 2,000 jobs after adding 17,000 over the past 5 years: reports

• McKinsey & Co. will eliminate up to 2,000 jobs within the next couple of months, reports say.
• The job cuts follow a trend of layoffs across industries like tech and media.

In another round of layoffs — that has spanned across industries like technology, media, and investment banking — consulting firm McKinsey & Co. will eliminate up to 2,000 jobs within the next couple of months, according to multiple reports.

The planned layoffs, which were first reported by Bloomberg, are part of a plan called Project Magnolia that seeks to eliminate support roles to help save money for consultant roles, sources familiar with the matter told the publication.

The restructuring could result in one of the largest cuts the company has ever seen, reports said. Financial Times and Bloomberg reported that over the past five years, McKinsey added 17,000 employees.

Some of the roles that will be eliminated could include human resources, technology, and communications, and could affect hundreds or thousands of jobs, a source familiar with the matter told Financial Times. The source also told the Financial Times that the legal and compliance teams would not be affected.

Representatives for McKinsey & Co. did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

McKinsey & Co. reported over $15 billion in revenue in 2021, and sources told the Financial Times that last year's revenue surpassed that number.

In statements to the media, McKinsey said that it would be "redesigning" its non-client facing teams, but would continue to hire staff that deals with clients.

McKinsey & Co., one of the "Big Three" consulting firms in the US, is one of the most sought-after consulting jobs in the country. In 2018, McKinsey told Insider the firm received 800,000 applications, with only 8,000 people receiving offers.

The firm is also known for being connected to multiple scandals, including its role in consulting work done for the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. McKinsey's South African branch is also facing criminal charges related to a corruption scandal involving the firm and its business with state-owned freight rail and port operator, Transnet.