SYDNEY - EY is mulling plans to trim another 100 jobs in its Oceania business, the latest sign of pressure in an industry that spans accounting, audit and consulting, according to The Australian.

EY Oceania – which covers the markets of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea – is preparing to announce the round of redundancies that could be as high as 100 roles and be announced as early as next week, the newspaper reported.

“In the event EY Oceania makes any workforce changes, our first and foremost priority will be to communicate with impacted people in our business, before updating stakeholders more broadly,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “We have not communicated any workforce changes with our people and will update the media if this occurs.”

Peers PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte and KPMG along with EY are reeling from the post-Covid-19 boom that has given way to weakness in sales and less activity in mergers and acquisitions.

As their clients slash budgets and postpone investments, professional services companies continue to adjust by cutting costs and repositioning staff.

In Australia, there is additional scrutiny on the sector after 2023’s PwC tax leak scandal challenged best practice and reputations more widely. PwC Australia in March kicked off a round of job reductions that will lower headcount by more than 300 staff. BLOOMBERG