Laid off from EY.
EY cut 3,000 US jobs in 2023 days after its $600 million plan to split the firm collapsed, then kept trimming for years, partners included. Almost none of it shows up in WARN data, which is its own story.
At a glance
What's known about EY severance and layoffs
- 3,000 · US roles cut, April 2023, about 5%
- $600M+ · Spent on the failed Everest split
- Around 100 · US consulting partners cut, December 2023
- About 30 · UK and Ireland partners cut, March 2025
- 130 roles · New Jersey WARN filing, October 2025
- 92,030, down 0.7% · EY Americas headcount, fiscal 2025
- One week's pay per year served · New Jersey severance set by statute
Recent EY layoffs
EY's only WARN filing on record, 130 New Jersey jobs in October 2025
New Jersey's own WARN archive lists Ernst & Young in Hudson and Middlesex Counties, 130 workers affected, effective 31 October 2025, posted that August. It's the only EY filing in our tracker all-time, and New Jersey happens to be the one state whose WARN law puts statutory severance behind a notice like it.
Previous rounds
EY layoff history
EY's cuts trace back to Everest, the plan to split audit from consulting that consumed more than a year of work and, executives told staff, cost the firm more than $600 million before it was abandoned. Days later EY said it would separate approximately 3,000 US employees, close to 5% of the US workforce. The firm put that down to economic conditions, strong retention and "overcapacity in parts of our firm", and said the decision was "not a result of the recently concluded strategic review, known as Project Everest". The same leadership had just told staff it was planning a simplification of the US firm to save up to $500 million a year.
The partner round came at the end of that same year rather than in 2025. In December 2023 the Wall Street Journal reported, and EY confirmed in general terms, that the firm was cutting jobs across its US arms and delaying start dates for some new hires. More than a tenth of its consulting partners went, around 100 people, along with about 30 strategy and transactions partners, roughly 4% of that group, and audit and tax teams were hit as well. EY's public explanation was that it had been "transforming our business to focus on the areas where our clients have the greatest needs".
The partner cut that gets repeated as a US event belongs to another country. About 30 partner positions, predominantly in consulting, were slated to go in the UK and Ireland in March 2025, communicated by the managing partner for that region. What EY's own numbers say about the Americas is quieter and more useful. For the fiscal year ending June 2025 the firm reported $53.2 billion of global revenue and around 400,000 people worldwide, while its Americas headcount fell 0.7% to 92,030 as every other region grew. Strategy and transactions shrank globally too, down 1.8% to 25,036.
Almost none of this reaches a WARN database. Our tracker holds exactly one EY filing all-time, one filing covering 130 jobs since the start of 2025. New Jersey's 2025 archive lists Ernst & Young in Hudson and Middlesex Counties, posted in August, effective 31 October 2025, covering 130 workers. New Jersey counts a mass layoff as 50 or more employees losing work at or reporting to an establishment inside any 30-day window, with part-time staff counted in, and an establishment there can be a single location or a group of an employer's locations in the state. That single notice covers two counties rather than one office. None in our tracker for 2026.
Getting cut from a firm this size lands hard, and the paperwork arrives regardless. If you were one of the 130, New Jersey law gives you more than EY has published in the reporting we track. The state sets the severance at a week's pay for each year you served, due even when an employer runs the full 90 days notice, and four further weeks get added when the notice falls short. Whichever is higher governs the rate, your closing regular pay or your three-year average, and a waiver only counts if the state commissioner or a court signs off, so read anything you're handed against the statute before you sign it. Outside New Jersey the binding terms are the ones in your own agreement, since nothing firm-wide has been published and what employees report is about four weeks. You can see what any employer has actually filed in our WARN tracker.
Reporting on previous EY layoff rounds
October 2025 · A New Jersey WARN notice covering 130 roles in Hudson and Middlesex Counties, posted in August with an effective date of 31 October, and EY's only filing in our tracker
Terms not published. New Jersey's WARN law separately requires a week's pay for every year served.
March 2025 · About 30 partner positions, predominantly in consulting, slated to go in the UK and Ireland, communicated to partners by the managing partner for that region rather than a US leader
December 2023 · More than a tenth of EY's US consulting partners, around 100 people, plus about 30 strategy and transactions partners, with audit and tax teams affected and some new hire start dates pushed back
Terms not published. EY said it would offer "comprehensive support to those who are affected".
April 2023 · About 3,000 US roles, close to 5% of the US workforce, concentrated in consulting, announced days after the Everest split was abandoned
How EY's layoffs compare to other companies
Same Big Four squeeze as the KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte pages in our records. In 2023 alone KPMG cut 5% of its US staff and Deloitte let go 1,200 US employees, about 1.5%, while EY separated roughly 3,000. What sets EY apart is the Everest scar, more than $600 million spent on a split that never happened, with the largest of those cuts landing days after it collapsed.
What to do after being laid off from EY
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. EY's biggest hubs: New Jersey. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what EY's hub states run: New Jersey, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
EY layoff and severance questions
What severance does EY pay in layoffs?
EY hasn't published terms for any US round in the reporting we track. Employee accounts gathered by industry blogs describe about four weeks of pay with little notice and healthcare to the end of the month, but those are unverified reports rather than company policy. If you were caught in the New Jersey filing, state law is firmer than anything EY has said publicly, at a week's pay for each year you put in. Your own agreement governs the rest.
Why doesn't EY show up in WARN databases?
Our tracker holds one EY filing all-time, the 130 New Jersey roles from October 2025, against thousands of US jobs cut since 2023. New Jersey, the one state where EY has filed, counts a mass layoff as 50 or more employees losing work at or reporting to an establishment inside any 30-day window, and an establishment there can be a single location or a group of the employer's locations in the state. A reduction that stays under the threshold a state sets produces no notice, whatever the company-wide total. Absence from WARN data doesn't mean absence of layoffs.
Are EY partners laid off too?
Partners have been cut repeatedly, though the record puts the US round earlier than it's usually described. In December 2023 EY cut more than a tenth of its US consulting partners, around 100 people, along with about 30 strategy and transactions partners. The roughly 30 partner exits reported in March 2025 were in the UK and Ireland rather than the US. No terms on record for either group.
Does New Jersey require severance for the October 2025 EY layoff?
Yes. Under the state's WARN law the severance runs to a week's pay for every completed year of service, and it's due even when an employer runs the full 90 days notice. Fall short on the notice and four further weeks get added. Whichever is higher governs the rate, your closing regular pay or your three-year average. The entitlement also can't be signed away casually, since a waiver only counts if the state commissioner or a court signs off on it.
How many jobs has EY cut in the US?
No complete US total appears in the reporting we track. The rounds on record run to roughly 3,000 roles in April 2023, then around 100 consulting partners and about 30 strategy and transactions partners that December, then the 130 New Jersey roles in October 2025. EY's fiscal 2025 figures show its Americas headcount down 0.7% to 92,030 while every other region grew, which is the closest thing to a trend line the firm discloses.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from EY?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. EY's biggest U.S. hubs are New Jersey. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at EY?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at EY?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from EY?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.