Accounting giant EY is axing holiday bonuses for US staff over uncertain economic outlook: FT
- Big 4 accounting firm EY told US staff they will not be receiving holiday bonuses this year, per the FT.
- The accounting giant said this was due to "the changing economic environment."
Accounting giant EY told staff in the US they will not be receiving holiday bonuses this year due to a challenging economic outlook, the Financial Times reported, citing people on a Friday all-hands call.
For the past two years, EY, a 'Big 4' accounting firm, paid merit bonuses to top performers around this time of the year, in addition to the main bonuses at the end of the July-to-June fiscal year. But this year there will be no money for the mid-year bonuses, per the FT.
"While EY continues to experience strong revenue growth, we have elected at this time not to fund our additional, discretionary mid-year program given the changing economic environment," the accounting giant told the FT in a statement.
EY scrapping its holiday bonuses due to economic uncertainties stands in stark contrast to its euphoria in the fiscal year ended-2022, which the firm's global leaders called "one of the most successful years in the history of the organisation," the FT reported.
The belt-tightening is also jarring: EY is planning to split its accounting and consulting businesses into two separate companies — a move that could see most of the firm's 13,000 partners receiving up to $8 million worth of shares.
And it's not just EY that's cutting back — companies across the board are shifting their strategies amid fears of an impending recession.
There have been high-profile layoffs at numerous tech giants including Meta and Salesforce, and even banks and financial firms have come under pressure — Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have also made cuts in recent months.
EY did not immediately respond to a request from Insider sent outside regular business hours.