As McKinsey & Co. celebrated its 100th anniversary in Chicago last October, the festivities projected the image of a consulting powerhouse poised for a new era.
Partners, clients, and high-profile guests — including Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Oprah Winfrey — attended the centennial event, which was part gala, part strategic pep talk. On stage, Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels delivered a rousing message: “We will kick some ass as we start our second century,” he told a cheering audience, promising that the firm’s best days lay ahead.
Behind the scenes, however, the tone was far more sober. McKinsey’s leadership has been quietly communicating a need to tighten the belt, particularly in non-client-facing departments. People familiar with internal discussions told Bloomberg the firm is planning roughly a 10% reduction in headcount across support functions — a move that could affect several thousand employees.
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These cuts are expected to be implemented gradually over the next 18 to 24 months, though McKinsey has not provided a public timeline.
The decision reflects a broader strategic recalibration after a decade of rapid expansion followed by several years of flat revenue growth. McKinsey’s employee count ballooned from around 17,000 in 2012 to a peak of 45,000 by 2022, before slipping to approximately 40,000. Meanwhile, firmwide revenue has remained in the $15 billion to $16 billion range over the past five years, a plateau that has prompted internal reassessments.
“Ahead of our second century, we are focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our support functions,” a McKinsey spokesperson said, noting that the firm is responding to rapid changes in technology and client needs, including the impact of artificial intelligence on business operations.
The spokesperson emphasized that the company is continuing to hire consultants — the client-facing core of its business — even as support staff are being trimmed.
Industry analysts note that McKinsey is following patterns seen across consulting firms in recent years. EY, PwC, and Accenture have also cut non-revenue-generating roles while investing in AI and automation to streamline operations. Just last month, McKinsey cut around 200 global technology positions as part of an effort to leverage AI tools internally.
McKinsey is also navigating external pressures. In the U.S., potential cuts in government consulting spending under President Donald Trump have prompted concerns about slower growth. China has encouraged businesses to rely more on domestic consulting firms rather than international giants like McKinsey, while Saudi Arabia has scaled back payments for major government projects, a market that generated roughly $500 million in annual fees for McKinsey during the last decade.
These shifts underline that even consulting behemoths are vulnerable to geopolitical and regulatory currents.
Despite these headwinds, McKinsey projects optimism publicly. Sternfels’ keynote at the centennial gathering framed the moment as an inflection point.
“Are you excited about our mission? Do you feel we have a good shot?” he asked partners, promising that those who embrace the firm’s vision will reap rewards.
The gathering underscored McKinsey’s extensive influence and its network of elite clients spanning governments and multinational corporations, highlighting the firm’s continued centrality to global business strategy.
However, McKinsey still carries reputational baggage. The firm has faced scrutiny in the U.S. over its advisory work for clients in China and Saudi Arabia, while its past involvement with opioid manufacturers forced it to pay hundreds of millions in civil settlements. These episodes continue to weigh on perceptions of the firm, even as Sternfels insisted that the company has “righted our ship.”
The current phase of McKinsey’s evolution is one of contrasts: bold public proclamations of growth and innovation juxtaposed with behind-the-scenes cost-cutting and a careful reassessment of priorities. Support staff reductions are meant to fund the continued expansion of consulting teams, ensuring that client-facing growth is not stymied. Yet, the firm’s ability to sustain its historical dominance may depend on how effectively it navigates a market that is more cost-conscious, technologically disrupted, and politically complex than ever before.