Consulting giant McKinsey & Company is planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of a broader slowdown across the advisory industry, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

McKinsey, along with peers EY and PwC, has been slimming its workforce in recent years as demand weakens and clients — including corporations and governments — become more cost-conscious. The pullback follows a pandemic-era hiring boom that left many firms overstaffed when dealmaking, strategy projects and public-sector spending slowed.

The pressure has been compounded by political and regulatory shifts. Accenture has said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for federal agencies to scale back consultancy contracts has weighed on its revenue, while China has intensified scrutiny of foreign advisory firms, curbing opportunities in one of the industry’s key growth markets.

At the same time, the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the sector. Some companies are using AI tools and chatbots to replace work traditionally handled by consultants, reducing demand for junior staff. Others, however, are turning to McKinsey and its rivals for advice on how to deploy AI effectively, creating new but uneven pockets of demand.

The planned job cuts underscore the uneven recovery facing the global consulting industry as it adapts to tighter budgets, political headwinds and rapid technological change.