This Corporate Giant Permanently Shuts 4 Offices, Putting 500 Staff on Work From Home Contracts

New Delhi: Global accounting and consulting firm Deloitte will shut four of its 50 UK offices in Gatwick, Liverpool, Nottingham and Southampton as it reviews its real estate portfolio in the country. Also Read – Fatality Rate Down to 1.5%, India’s COVID-19 Tally Settles Over 79 Lakh-mark; 36,470 Cases in 24 Hrs

However, it will retain all 500 staff based in those offices on working from home contracts. Also Read – IPL 2020: KXIP Opener Mandeep Singh Attended Father’s Funeral Through Video Call

In an emailed statement published by news agency Reuters, Stephen Griggs, Deloitte’s UK managing partner, said, “COVID-19 has fast-tracked our future of work programme, leading us to review our real estate portfolio. Any proposed change is to our ‘bricks and mortar’, not our presence in these regions.” Also Read – Ananya Birla Accuses Top US Restaurant of Being ‘Racist’ | Who is She? All You Need to Know

He clearly stated that all staff based at the four locations slated for closure would continue to be employed by Deloitte under permanent work-from-home contracts.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Deloitte, in April had cut UK partner salaries by 20% to protect jobs.

Other big firms that have been mulling to adopt working from home culture, or downsizing office space include BP (BP). Earlier software giant Microsoft had decided to give an option to its employees to work from home permanently. According to the reports, the company doesn’t expect to reopen its US offices until January of next year at the earliest. But once it opens, staffers can opt for work from their residences permanently.