Around 35 senior partners will hang up their boots early from Deloitte India as part of a massive organisational revamp, sources directly aware of the matter said. According to the sources who did not want to be named, the transition is part of a ‘golden handshake’ programme being offered by Deloitte India to a section of its senior leadership team in India from its audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, and tax practices, as it looks to replace its leadership with younger professionals.
The UK-headquartered Deloitte, currently one of the world's largest big 4 professional services firms by revenue, is offering a ‘golden handshake’ to partners who have attained the age of 55 years. The total number of partners above the age of 55 years was not immediately known. The standard retirement age in the firm is 62 years.
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“As in the past, some partners have expressed their desire for early retirement to pursue their passions and other interests after dedicating several years to Deloitte India. The organisation is grateful and acknowledges their contribution over the years," a Deloitte India spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
“In lieu of early retirement, the firm is also offering around two years’ annual compensation as severance pay which will accrue in a staggered manner over a period of time” said the source cited above. So far 35 partners have accepted the package, he said. According to industry estimates, Deloitte India has currently more than 450 partners, with each partner drawing a base salary anywhere between Rs 3 to 10 crore per annum.
“With this, Deloitte will bring in younger partners,” said another source. “The internal thinking is that with the rapidly changing dynamics of the business environment, the firm needs younger faces to stay ahead of the curve,” he added. The development comes at a time when the big 4 firms in India are trying to transform into specialised consulting and advisory providers – thus far the domain of the likes of McKinsey and BCG among others. Notably, last year, Deloitte appointed Romal Shetty as the CEO of its South Asia practice. In his late 40s, Shetty is one of the youngest CEOs appointed by the firm in India to date.
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In fiscal 2023, the combined revenues of the big 4 firms in India crossed Rs 32,700 crore. Going forward, Deloitte plans to have around 30 percent of its workforce operating from India within the next four years, with an estimated total employee count ranging from 1,50,000 to 1,60,000, as the country figures prominently in the firm’s global growth plan.
In a recent interview, Romal Shetty had said that the firm aims to surpass Rs 20,000 crore in revenue and increase the number of partners to over 1,000 within the next four years.
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