PwC File Photo: CFP

International auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will reportedly reduce about 50 percent of its financial services audit staff in China, in addition to discharging about 20 percent of its staff in other auditing lines and non-auditing businesses.

The lay-off followed PwC's dismissal of stories that its branch in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, was to shut down on July 10. 

PwC said the lay-off was a difficult decision, noting that due to the changes in external circumstances, the auditing firm has optimized its organizational structure in response to market demand, Chinese media outlet jiemian.com reported.

PwC said that the company has always valued talent and have invested heavily in talent development over recent years, adding that they are engaging in thorough communication with the employees and ensuring that the labor adjustment plan complies with relevant Chinese labor laws.

The report cited an employee of PwC, confirming the lay-off news and saying that they were discharged in the first week of July. Another employee said that new recruits this year were not affected.

PwC China office now has over 800 partners, and more than 20,000 workers in total, who are scattered in 29 Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, Macao and Xiong'an in North China's Hebei Province, PwC's website said.

Multiple listed companies in China have announced they are switching away from the PwC partly due to China's finance regulator is considering a significant penalty for the firm over its role in auditing the embattled property developer China Evergrande Group, which filed for bankruptcy last year and was ordered to be liquidated earlier this year.

In earlier July, the official website of PwC showed that it has appointed Li Dan, also known as Daniel Li, as the new chairman to head PwC Asia Pacific and China area. 

Li has served in navigating the complexities of IPOs, M&As, inbound and outbound transaction for a diverse range of MNCs, POEs and SOEs, the company's website said. "Li will lead PwC China in its mission of 'solving important problems and building social integrity,'" the company said earlier. 

Global Times