For decades, the aura of the big consultancies (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, EY) was synonymous with prestige, premium fees, and promises of transformation. That cycle is changing. In 2025, the sector is undergoing a structural adjustment: lower demand in certain markets, internal reorganizations, margin pressure, and clients who no longer pay for flashy PowerPoints but for measurable impact. This is not the end of consulting, but it is the end of an era in which value was justified by brand and methodology rather than tangible results.
Where the slowdown is already noticeable
The UK serves as a barometer. PwC UK recorded revenue growth of just 0.4% in its latest fiscal year, the lowest in years, with staff cuts and declines in consulting and risk areas. EY has acknowledged stagnation in its global consulting practice and has cut staff for the first time in over a decade, with weakness in Asia. McKinsey has reduced over 10% of its global workforce in the past 18 months as part of a plan to recover productivity and margin after the 2021–2022 boom.
In Nordic countries, quarterly results show a consistent pattern: negative or anemic growth, compressed margins, and staff adjustments, except in niches linked to defense, energy, or industry. Similar patterns appear in other regions: projects postponed, clients internalizing capabilities, and a clear preference for smaller, specialized teams.
Why now
The first reason is operational cycle. Over the past 15 years, many “easy savings” (reengineering, layer cuts, process standardization) have already been executed. Diminishing returns hit the old playbook: every additional euro promising efficiency demands deeper, costlier changes.
The second reason is technology. Generative AI and automation are replacing tasks previously performed by armies of analysts: research, document synthesis, hypothesis modeling, presentation support, PMO, and even sensitivity tests with internal data. C‑levels now demand fewer slides and more functional prototypes, less interviewing and more telemetry. The differential is no longer “bring a framework” but integrate data, governance, and solution deployment.
The third is cultural and purchasing. Clients demand outcome-oriented contracts, shorter delivery times, and flexible fees and teams. Consulting that arrives with a standard package, many hierarchical layers, and a “learning-in-client” team loses. Winners demonstrate sector expertise, proprietary technology, and real handover so value remains within the organization.
Impact on talent
The adjustment is visible in the pyramid. In 2025, multiple reports point to fewer entry-level openings, more selective promotions, and longer paths to partner positions. Pure strategy is under pressure: the over-hiring of 2021–2022 has given way to recalibration focusing on mid-senior profiles capable of leading implementations, not just designing them. The “MBA in–partner out” narrative cools, and winning profiles combine business + data + product. Even where firms aim to recruit juniors, competitive bias favors those arriving with AI, analytics, and automation skills from day one.
Where demand grows
Even during this adjustment, consulting does not disappear; it adapts. Demand grows for applied AI, cybersecurity, data modernization, regulation, and operational resilience. Hybrid models combining advisory hours with proprietary platforms, accelerators, connectors, or reusable IP gain traction. Specialized boutiques also thrive, competing on precision, speed, and cost against large structures.
Business coworkers cooperating while going through paperwork and analyzing business plans at work. Focus is on woman.
In regions where internationalization drives business, consulting maintains its “landing architect” role. Expansion into Latin America, for example, requires local expertise in taxation, labor, and go-to-market. Recent examples show that when value is concrete and localized, willingness to pay persists. In this arena, execution-focused consulting becomes leverage, not decoration, as seen in projects supporting regional expansion with local teams.
What the big firms are doing
The response combines internal optimization and technology investment. Rebranding, creating AI and tech units, simplifying layers, and focusing on high-ticket strategic accounts. The goal is to free margin to invest in proprietary capabilities and compete not only on brand but also on productivity and results. Profitability pressure forces streamlining certain functions and renegotiating project delivery: senior teams, mixed squads with engineers and data scientists, and impact KPIs agreed upon from the proposal stage.
For clients, the opportunity is clear: better purchasing. Design contracts based on value milestones, demand knowledge transfer, and avoid chronic dependency. For firms, the lesson is harsher: fewer PowerPoints, more product; less one-size-fits-all, more sector context; fewer hours, more outcomes.
Beyond the adjustment: the new promise
If 2025 taught anything, it is that reputational capital is no longer enough. The “crash” is not a collapse but a recomposition toward a market that rewards specialization, technology, and execution. Firms that simplify structures, invest in AI, and measure value will emerge stronger with defensible models. Those insisting on selling methodology without muscle will be exposed. The consulting that succeeds next will accelerate what the client already does, not attempt to replace it. This is the new psychological contract of the sector.
Sources:
- Financial Times: PwC UK cuts jobs as revenue growth slows sharply
- Financial Times: McKinsey sheds 10% of staff in 2-year profitability drive
- Financial Times: EY slims workforce for first time in 14 years
- Business Insider: ‘Culling of the herd’: Consulting could be headed for a decadelong shift that’ll make it harder to climb its career ladder
- Cinode: Consulting Industry Faces Continued Decline in Q2 – Growth Slows, Margins Under Pressure
