Laid off from McKinsey.
McKinsey shrank more than 10% in 18 months, the biggest contraction in its history, and only one dated round of a few hundred roles sits inside that stretch. The firm attributed the decline to attrition and performance reviews, and reporting described some engagement managers and associate partners offered nine months of pay to job hunt.
At a glance
What's known about McKinsey severance and layoffs
- 45,100 down to about 40,000 · McKinsey headcount, 18-month change
- 9 paid months to job hunt · McKinsey exit offer reported in 2024
- ~10% of non-client-facing roles · McKinsey support-function cuts discussed, December 2025
- None in the reporting we track · McKinsey severance policy
- About 1,400, roughly 3% of the firm · McKinsey back-office roles cut in 2023
- About 200 worldwide · McKinsey tech roles cut, November 2025
- None in our tracker · McKinsey WARN filings all-time
Recent McKinsey layoffs
McKinsey leaders discussed possible support-function cuts
Bloomberg reported in December 2025 that McKinsey's leadership had discussed cutting about 10% of headcount in non-client-facing departments, a few thousand roles staggered over 18 to 24 months. A spokesman said it was early to gauge the net impact, and nothing in the reporting we track records a final number or a country list. A month earlier the firm had cut about 200 global tech jobs.
Previous rounds
McKinsey layoff history
A McKinsey exit can come with no announced round to belong to, which makes a rough situation more confusing, because there's no public number to point to when someone asks what happened. Three dated rounds sit on the firm's record, and a much larger decline sits beside them that McKinsey attributed to normal attrition and performance review firings. The rounds are about 1,400 back-office roles in March 2023, roughly 3% of the firm, in HR, communications and IT under the internal label Project Magnolia. Then around 360 specialist and technical roles in April 2024, which Bloomberg reported at the time wasn't expected to reach traditional consultant roles. Then about 200 global tech jobs in November 2025.
Those rounds don't add up to the decline, and the gap is most of the story. McKinsey went from about 45,100 employees at the end of 2023 to about 40,000, more than 10% in 18 months and the largest such loss in its history, after climbing from 17,000 people in 2012 to as high as 45,000 by 2022. The only dated round inside that 18-month window is the 2024 specialist cut of a few hundred roles. The 2023 back-office round came before it and the 2025 tech round came after. So headcount fell by roughly 5,000 across a stretch where the named rounds account for a few hundred. That figure is a net change rather than a count of involuntary exits, and in May 2025 McKinsey said it was recruiting robustly and expected to welcome thousands of new consultants that year. The Financial Times reported that a large number of underperforming consultants were put under pressure to leave during the 2024 mid-year reviews.
On what any of it paid, there are no terms on record for most of these rounds. The clearest figure came in March 2024, when The Times reported McKinsey offering some engagement managers and associate partners in the UK nine months of pay and career training to spend that time job hunting on the clock before leaving, part of an initiative spanning the UK and US that reportedly reached a three-figure number of people. That was one initiative aimed at two job levels, so read it as what one group was reported to have been offered, not as a number you can ask for. Asked about it, a McKinsey spokesperson described the actions as part of the firm's performance management approach. For the 2024 specialist round the firm said only that departing colleagues would receive support during and after their transition.
None of it shows up in our WARN tracker. The tracker holds 0 all-time filings under the McKinsey name, and 0 filings covering 0 jobs since the start of 2025, so it gives you no filed notice to check your own dates against. McKinsey is a private partnership, and its 2024 report published neither staff numbers nor an annual revenue figure, so the public paperwork thins out at exactly the point you'd want it. That puts the weight on your own documents. Check how the separation agreement classifies your exit, what the notice period and final pay date actually are, and what signing releases, and get anything you were promised in writing rather than in a conversation.
What comes next is reported rather than decided. Bloomberg said in December 2025 that leadership had discussed cutting about 10% of headcount in non-client-facing departments, a few thousand roles staggered over 18 to 24 months, while the firm still planned to hire more consultants. A spokesman said it was early to gauge the net impact on headcount. Sternfels told Bloomberg the firm would upskill people more and would probably have fewer of them in non-client-deployed areas, leveraged by today's technology and AI. If you sit in a support function at a firm like this one, that's the most direct statement of intent on the record, and worth reading your own role against.
Reporting on previous McKinsey layoff rounds
December 2025 · Leadership was reported to have discussed cutting about 10% of headcount in non-client-facing departments, a few thousand roles staggered over 18 to 24 months. Nothing in the reporting we track records a final number or that any of it has been carried out.
November 2025 · About 200 global tech jobs, cut in the week before 26 November 2025, which McKinsey said was part of making professional support functions more efficient. The firm was reported not to be ruling out further reductions across functions over the next two years.
April 2024 · Around 360 specialist and technical roles across design, data engineering, cloud and software, about 3% of 12,000 such workers. Bloomberg reported at the time that traditional consultant roles weren't expected to be affected. City AM later put the 2024 specialist figure at 400.
Amounts not published. A McKinsey spokesperson said departing colleagues would receive support during and after their transition. Separately in March 2024, The Times reported that some engagement managers and associate partners in the UK were offered nine months of pay and career training to job hunt before leaving.
March 2023 · About 1,400 roles, roughly 3% of the firm, primarily in non-client-facing support functions including HR, communications and IT, under the internal label Project Magnolia. Sternfels told staff the firm would say goodbye to some firm functions colleagues while helping others move into new roles, and said McKinsey would look to use attrition or voluntary departures.
2023 through 2025 · Headcount down more than 10%, about 45,100 at the end of 2023 to about 40,000, the largest such loss in the firm's history. McKinsey attributed the decline to normal attrition and performance review firings.
How McKinsey's layoffs compare to other companies
Outright layoffs have been described as rare at McKinsey, where underperforming employees were usually counseled to leave rather than fired. The dated rounds on record stay small next to the decline around them, which McKinsey attributed to normal attrition and performance review firings.
What to do after being laid off from McKinsey
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. McKinsey's biggest hubs: New York, Illinois. 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 McKinsey's hub states run: New York, Illinois, 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.
McKinsey layoff and severance questions
Does McKinsey do layoffs?
It has, and three dated rounds are on record. About 1,400 back-office roles in March 2023, around 360 specialist and technical roles in April 2024, and about 200 tech roles in November 2025. Outright layoffs have been described as rare at the firm, where underperforming employees were usually counseled to leave rather than fired, and McKinsey attributed the much larger headcount decline of the same era to attrition and performance reviews rather than to layoffs.
What does McKinsey pay people to leave?
No severance policy or schedule appears in the reporting we track, and there are no terms on record for most of these rounds. The clearest figure comes from March 2024, when The Times reported that some engagement managers and associate partners in the UK were offered nine months of pay and career training, part of an initiative spanning the UK and US that reportedly reached a three-figure number of people. That was one initiative aimed at two job levels rather than a firm-wide entitlement, and a McKinsey spokesperson described the actions as part of its performance management approach.
Were McKinsey's cuts layoffs or performance exits?
Both are on the record and they were counted differently. The three dated rounds were reported as job cuts. The much larger decline, from about 45,100 employees to about 40,000, McKinsey attributed to attrition and performance review firings, and the Financial Times reported that a large number of underperforming consultants were pressured to leave during the 2024 mid-year reviews. Which category your own exit was filed under shapes what your paperwork says, so read how the agreement describes it.
How many jobs has McKinsey cut since 2023?
About 1,960 across the three dated rounds, roughly 1,400 back-office roles in 2023, around 360 specialist roles in 2024, and about 200 tech roles in 2025. City AM put the 2024 figure at 400 rather than 360. The headcount drop is far larger, roughly 5,000 between the end of 2023 and May 2025, and nothing in the reporting we track breaks the rest of that gap into rounds.
Does McKinsey show up in WARN filings?
None in our tracker. It holds 0 all-time filings under the McKinsey name, and 0 filings covering 0 jobs since the start of 2025, and nothing in it was filed with a state under that name. Every reduction on this page reached the record through company statements or news and trade reporting instead, so that reporting and the packet you were handed are what you have to work from.
What severance has McKinsey given laid-off employees?
McKinsey hasn't published severance terms for the rounds we track. Packages change between rounds and between individuals, and your separation agreement is the only version that counts.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from McKinsey?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. McKinsey's biggest U.S. hubs are New York, Illinois. 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 McKinsey?
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 McKinsey?
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 McKinsey?
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.