Over the last few weeks, we have been positioning longstanding client, Source Global Research and its CEO, Fiona Czerniawska as an expert on the drivers of the slowdown in consulting, and the impact of staff being made redundant by some of the big firms.

First, in The Financial Times (an article which was also covered by The Australian Financial Review, Yahoo Finance and MSN), Fiona Czerniawska described it as ‘the hangover after the party’.  Fiona added: ‘there’s a worry that a market that got considerably softer over the last 18 to 24 months will get softer again before it starts recovering’.

Then, in City AM, Fiona said: ‘what we’re seeing here is firms trying to improve profits and adapt to changing client buying behaviour. Neither of these issues are likely to disappear in the next 1-2 years, so we should expect to see more cuts in the future, but probably in more targeted areas‘.

Finally, in The Sunday Times, when asked why so many firms are competing to do unprofitable, or barely profitable work, Fiona explained that: ‘consultants don’t want to have to lay off staff unless they absolutely have to, because if demand returns, then you have a real issue‘. She then added that during similar downturns in 2000 and 2010, the sector laid off a lot more staff and struggled to recruit when the market picked up again.