McKinsey is reportedly set to undertake one of its largest rounds of job cuts in history, with plans to eliminate almost 2,000 positions. The consulting giant's management team is finalising the plan, which will mainly target support staff in non-client-facing roles.

And the final number of roles to be eliminated from its 45,000 workforces could still change, according to reports. That headcount is up from 28,000 just five years ago and 17,000 in 2012.

“We are redesigning the way our non-client-serving teams operate for the first time in more than a decade so that these teams can effectively support and scale with our firm,” DJ Carella, a company representative, said in an email. Carella said the firm is still hiring professionals who deal directly with clients.

The firm, which has a history of drastic staff-reduction measures, is taking the axe to some of its own, with the move expected to focus on support staff in roles that don’t have direct contact with clients, according to a Business Times report.

Under a plan dubbed Project Magnolia, the management team is hoping the move will help preserve the compensation pool for its partners.

The firm, which has seen rapid growth in its headcount during the past decade, is looking to restructure how it organises its support teams to centralise some of the roles.

The firm posted a record US$15 billion in revenue in 2021 and surpassed that figure in 2022.