KPMG's accountancy staff told their jobs are at risk via voicemail

London, March 10 (ANI): Hundreds of workers in the accountancy branch of consultancy firm KPMG- once hailed as one of the 'best big companies to work for' - have been told by a pre-recorded message that their jobs could be at risk.

Five hundred of the company's management consultants were sent an email asking them to dial into a voicemail. When they did so they were greeted with an announcement revealing a redundancy programme.

The pre-recorded message then also mentioned the threat also extending to senior managers and directors working with private sector clients, it has been reported.

Senior partner Julian Thomas - who got a 683,000- pound bonus in January - recorded the voicemail.

"This is a message going out to all corporates. The corporate business is facing a challenging market... [we are] 51 per cent down on bottom line profitability compared with this time last year," the Daily Mail quoted Thomas as saying in the message.

"Unfortunately we are now in consultation with certain individuals at director and senior management level across corporates," he added.

There are 30 positions that are planned to go in this round of redundancies and a review is also under way in the company's marketing and communications division.

The insensitive voicemail redundancy announcement is at odds with KPMG's reputation as being popular with its workers.

For six consecutive years, the firm has been voted as 'one of the best companies to work for' by its own employees.

A spokesman for the company said all of those whose jobs were at risk were told personally and on a one-to-one level. (ANI)