Employers
FTI Consulting, the Washington, D.C.-based advisory firm, has cut about 4% of its more than 8,200 employees under a plan “to align staffing with demand,” according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Oct. 30. All affected employees had been notified by Thursday, Oct. 29, the day the company reported third-quarter results, and the firm said on its earnings call that the plan has now concluded.
The cuts landed in a record revenue quarter and alongside continued hiring at the senior and entry levels, a mix of trimming in weaker markets while adding staff where demand is strong.
What the filing says
FTI initiated the plan during the third quarter. It included targeted headcount reductions and real estate-related actions, and the terminations run between the third and fourth quarters of 2026. The company said all affected employees will be released subject to applicable notice periods.
The firm recorded a $46.0 million special charge in the third quarter, made up of $45.5 million in salary- and benefits-related costs tied to the headcount reductions and $0.5 million in non-cash real estate costs. It expects a further fourth-quarter charge of about $7 million, roughly $2 million in salary and benefits and about $5 million in real estate costs, bringing the estimated full-year charge to about $53 million. FTI expects the third- and fourth-quarter actions to produce annualized savings of approximately $80 million in salary-, benefits- and real estate-related costs.
Where the cuts fell
On the Oct. 29 call, according to the transcript FTI furnished with the filing, Chief Financial Officer Eun Angela Nam said the headcount actions were taken across all segments and regions, but principally in geographies affected by challenging market conditions, such as the Middle East and the United Kingdom. She also cited adjacent investments where the firm is sharpening its focus, including some transformation and strategy bets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and in Asia-Pacific; its construction solutions business, primarily outside the U.S.; and its strategic communications segment. She called them “targeted, disciplined actions in areas where market conditions or investment cases have changed.”
Nam said that because notice periods vary by geography, about two-thirds of the affected employees, or 230 people, were still counted in third-quarter headcount, and that the company expects most of the rest to leave by the end of the fourth quarter. FTI did not break out how many U.S. employees were affected, and the filing does not name office locations.
Hiring continues elsewhere
The same results show FTI still adding people. Billable headcount stood at 6,575 at Sept. 30, up from 6,457 a year earlier; Nam put the gains at 1.8% year over year and 2.6% from the prior quarter. The firm welcomed about 270 campus graduates during the third quarter, and senior managing director and managing director headcount rose 6.7% and 4.4%, respectively, according to the call transcript.
By segment, billable headcount at Sept. 30 was 2,458 in Corporate Finance, 1,512 in Forensic and Litigation Consulting, 1,003 in Economic Consulting, 648 in Technology and 954 in Strategic Communications.
Third-quarter revenues were a record $1.013 billion, up 5.9% from $956.2 million a year earlier. Net income fell to $63.4 million from $82.8 million, which the company attributed mainly to the special charge along with higher direct costs, selling, general and administrative expenses and interest. Earnings per share were $2.35, compared with $2.60; the special charge reduced EPS by $1.36.
For consultants and support staff, the disclosure suggests the reductions were concentrated outside the U.S. and in specific practices rather than across the board. FTI said it employs people in 32 countries and territories. Workers at the firm who have received notice will separate on schedules set by local notice rules, so some departures will not show up until the fourth quarter.
Sources
- FTI Consulting, Inc., “Form 8-K (Items 2.02, 2.05, 7.01, 9.01),” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, October 30, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/887936/000119312526441751/fcn-20261029.htm
- FTI Consulting, Inc., “FTI Consulting Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Revenues of $1.013 Billion, With Growth Across All Five Business Segments,” October 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/887936/000119312526441751/fcn-ex99_1.htm
- FTI Consulting, Inc., third quarter 2026 earnings conference call transcript, Exhibit 99.2, October 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/887936/000119312526441751/fcn-ex99_2.htm
Featured photo: The office building at 700 12th St. NW in downtown Washington, D.C., June 15, 2024. Representative image; not FTI Consulting's headquarters at 555 12th St. NW. Photo: Tony Webster, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Cropped from the original.
