Image via The PIE News
Last updated
British Council: Layoffs
British Council plans to cut approximately 25% of workforce (alongside closure of 11 country offices) to manage £197m pandemic-related debt. Already reduced headcount by 2,110 FTE since April 2021; further redundancies signalled as part of turnaround plan. Organisation not expected to return to profitability until 2029/30.
Source: The PIE News
The leadership read
Workforce moves like this mark the contracting side of consulting hiring conditions.
Market context: MitchelLake's Talent Market Index sits at 111.2 (Hot), up 5.2 on the prior month; EMEA hiring signal is running easing (-4.4pts).
British Council: 2 signals in the last 90 days — above the Consulting median of 1 across 45 tracked companies; 0.1% of MitchelLake's EMEA signal flow; 2 tracked across 64 days.
MitchelLake in this thematic
Also at British Council →
More signals across Consulting
Layoffs · EMEA
Kyndryl →Kyndryl is conducting multi-country workforce rebalancing with a $200 million severance charge. In the UK alone, at least 100 employees expected to leave through voluntary redundancy with 4-month pay packages, with compulsory redundancies to follow if targets not met. Affects small percentage of 73,000-person workforce.
Restructuring · EMEA
Savannah Group →Savannah Group, a UK-based executive recruitment firm, has entered insolvency and been listed for sale after a failed pivot to AI-driven talent acquisition. Revenue fell 20% YoY (£15.6m to £12.4m), debt costs spiked 5.5x, and net profit halved. The company invested heavily in MapX, an AI recruitment platform launched publicly in February 2023 after internal development since 2019.
Geographic Expansion · EMEA
Ripple →Ripple secured a preliminary MiCA CASP license in Luxembourg, establishing EU market access for digital asset services.
Leadership Change · EMEA
Supercell →Jaakko Harlas, head of investments at Supercell, departed after 12+ years. He cited family time as reason and stated no immediate plans to join another company.
Ma Activity · EMEA
Korn Ferry →Korn Ferry to acquire UK-based AMS (talent solutions provider) from OMERS Private Equity for approximately $1.1 billion USD, combining executive search, RPO, early careers recruiting, and contingent workforce solutions. Deal expands global footprint to 120+ countries and creates combined entity of 16,000+ employees.
Ma Activity · EMEA
Publicis Groupe →Publicis Groupe is acquiring LiveRamp, a independent audience and identity data vendor. This acquisition will displace LiveRamp's existing brand clients who will need to source alternative identity resolution and audience data platforms.
Intelligence powered by Autonodal ↗
Nearby in the record