Life Science Industry Situation

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, I feel that you need to put things into perspective regarding the KPMG layoffs. The KPMG layoffs were essentially a non-event on an organizational level as they only occurred in the US and affected just 700 employees (i.e., 2% of the workforce in the US). While we cannot know for certain what happened, it is likely that since currently, many people panic about a recession, they just stick to their jobs, including those in the Big 4. However, given that personnel planning in consulting/ accounting is made with a certain churn in mind, this was likely just a correction for that churn.
• As for the future of these specific boutique consulting companies, we really cannot tell. So far, to my knowledge, there have not been any layoffs, but recruiting has slowed down or been frozen altogether. If you want a further reading, please feel free to have a look at this article I wrote about boutique consulting companies, including an outlook on the future of this sector.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Remember that the firing right now pales in comparison to the past hiring. I know you're speaking about ASEAN, but in the US, unemployment is a literally record lows (all time lows).

Yes, we are seeing fewer projects than before. This may last just a few months or many months.

Boutique consultancies are more at risk than larger consultancies.

Life science is probably more protected than other industries, given ageing populations, pandemic risk/focus (H5N1 coming into focus), etc.

Also remember that consulting is non-cyclical. Consultancies get hired in good times and bad (for different reasons and different times of projects)

Source: Scott Galloway

Hi there,

Generally, all firms are experiencing a drop in demand, for some this might be more pronounced than for others.

Due to the financial health of smaller firms, they tend to operate more conservatively and hence are more likely to reduce or stop hiring early.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

In general firms are similarly affected during downturns, with the exception maybe of certain firms that specialize more in restructuring/turnarounds (i.e. A&M).

If you are referring to Life Science in ASEAN - I assume you are talking about the likes of LEK. Anecdotally from what I know things have slowed down, and also because they also focus alot on PE due diligence, of which deal flow has also slowed down in the past 1 year.

Hi there, 

Needless to say, it's impossible to know these things the same way it's impossible to read into the future. 

Smaller / boutique consulting firms don't have to be more affected than the bigger firms. In fact, sometimes smaller firms tend to be more resilient because they are leaner and they have a more controlled hiring process (compared to the fast / overhiring some of the big companies have gone through in the past years). 

What you can do is to also try and network with some of the people in these firms. You can use this guide as an indication of how to get the most out of these discussions and potentially land a referral. 

Best,
Cristian

Boutiques are/will be more hit than the bigger & traditional consulting firms. There is general slowdown pretty much everywhere.

I work in LS space now and its slowing down a lot.

Hello,

It would just be taking a guess to predict the future. But looking at the trend from KPMG and more recently McKinsey, one could argue that this is a consequence of over-hiring soon after the pandemic. 

My hunch is that emerging markets in ASEAN region would still be growing, albeit at a relatively slower pace than expected. Thus, they would be slightly less affected than the western world.

Rushabh