International firm Pinsent Masons has begun a redundancy consultation that could see 100 secretarial jobs lost. The consultation, among the firm’s personal assistants (PA), will be completed by the end of November.

The latest round of redundancies among support staff follows similar moves from other City firms.

In August insurance litigation firm BLM said it would cut 50 roles among its support and secretarial staff. Earlier this year, magic circle Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer offered voluntary redundancy to London-based support staff.

A spokesperson for Pinsent Masons said the firm had invested significantly in technology and other resources to achieve its goal of becoming a ‘market leader’ but that one of the consequences was that ‘resourcing levels among PA staff and the needs of the business are no longer aligned’.

They added: ’While it is hard to be precise about the outcome of the consultation at this point, we have not ruled out the reallocation of resource or redundancy of some roles. We will do everything possible to support those impacted during what we recognise is an unsettling time.’

PAs affected by the consultation will be able to apply for one of 50 new administrative assistant (AA) roles that will be created.