Hundreds of Tampa Workers Laid Off

PricewaterhouseCoopers laid off hundreds of workers - many from its Tampa office - as it consolidated its US and United Kingdom IT groups.

One of the bay area’s larger employers is laying off about 500 workers. PricewaterhouseCoopers announced Friday that it is cutting its Information Technology groups by about half.

The accounting firm is combining its US and United Kingdom IT staff which means 1100 positions will be reduced to about 600 jobs. Most of the remaining positions will be in the Tampa office.

It’s a blow to the employees losing their jobs, but the managing editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Jackie McConnell, said Pricewaterhouse recently increased its number of CPAs from 49 last year to 145 this year.

“The presence of the IT division may be shrinking,” McConnell said. “But, the company’s presence professionally is being maintained.”

In next week’s issue of the journal, McConnell said they’ve listed the top 25 accounting and service firms in the area – other employers that may hire the laid off workers.

“I don’t think it’s really a shock within the industry,” McConnell said. “The Orlando Business Journal reported months ago that Pricewaterhouse was pulling back there.”

McConnell said the recession has other large professional services firms tightening their belts too.