International firm Clyde & Co has opened talks with support staff about potential job losses after deciding to centralise operations.

The firm has started a consultation with an undisclosed number of people following the decision to bring together services at centres in Scotland and the Philippines.

The move does not affect fee earners but does affect staff based in the UK and other offices in Europe.

Matthew Kelsall, chief executive, said: ‘As a growth-focused global business, we regularly review how we operate to ensure we provide efficient, consistent and future‑ready support to our business and the highest standards of service to clients.

‘We are proposing to move certain services currently carried out by teams within legal support, purchase to pay and IT to our established shared services centres in Glasgow and Accenture’s service centre in Manila. This builds on similar changes already implemented in the Americas, Middle East and APAC.

‘These centres are a common feature of modern global professional services firms and are designed to deliver services through standardised processes and enhanced technology, enabling a more efficient, scalable and resilient support model as our business continues to grow and client needs evolve.

‘We recognise that these proposals will be unsettling for colleagues affected, and we are committed to supporting them throughout this process.’

According to its most recent accounts, as of April 2025 the firm employed 2,205 support staff in addition to 2,756 fee earners. During the 2024/25 year, turnover increased slightly to £844m but pre-tax profit fell by 12% to £167m.

Clyde is not the only big firm looking to make savings by reducing business support staff. A&O Shearman confirmed earlier this month it is cutting an undisclosed number of staff following an investment in technology and data.

It has also been reported that global firm Baker McKenzie has made plans to cut up to 10% of its business professional roles, mostly affecting its Belfast office.

 

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