Apr 19, 2026
A high salary isn't the only thing that entices people to work for a company. For some people, employee benefits are just as important, if not more so. In 2025, workers reported that the job benefits they valued most were health-related ones, retirement and savings plans and paid leave. (1)
So, what would you do if you accepted a position because the company provided a package with great PTO or parental leave benefits — but then your employer cut those perks in half?
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Employees of Deloitte are currently facing this problem.
According to internal documents and a recorded meeting viewed by Business Insider (2), Deloitte is reducing annual PTO, IVF funding, parental leave, and a pension plan for a certain classification of employees. This particular change to benefits may be jaw-dropping, but Deloitte is hardly the only organization making these sorts of moves right now.
What benefits is Deloitte cutting?
Interestingly, Deloitte is only slashing benefits for a designated group of workers. Business Insider was the first to report that Deloitte was restructuring its talent workforce in January. The Big Four accounting firm broke its employees into four groups: Center, Core, Project and Domain.
Only employees who fall under the "Center" talent model will experience benefit cuts. This includes people who perform work internally rather than with clients, including roles in administration, finance and IT support. Some workers in Deloitte's Enterprise Solutions team are part of the Center talent model.
According to the internal documents viewed by Business Insider, employees will now have 18 to 25 days of PTO, depending on their seniority and tenure. As a result, most of the impacted workers will lose five to 10 days of PTO. (Many junior-level employees will be unaffected by this change, though.)
Paid family leave — which includes parental leave — will be slashed in half, from 16 weeks to eight weeks.
Previously, workers could access a $50,000 reimbursement for costs related to adoption, surrogacy and IVF treatment. Those in the Center talent model will no longer have access to this assistance.
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Enterprise Solutions employees still have access to a company 401(k), but Center workers will stop earning accruals with a pension plan.
We don't know how many people will be affected by these changes yet. In all, the company employs a little over 180,000 people in the United States. All of these changes will take effect on January 1, 2027.
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More companies are cutting employee benefits and laying off workers
Deloitte is just the most recent example of a big-name company cutting employee benefits.
In January, Home Depot announced that it was ending its work-from-home policy. A Home Depot spokesperson told Business Insider that corporate employees had to return to the office five days per week (3). The corporation also raised the bar for managers to qualify for a bonus and reduced the bonus amount for managers who only met the minimum sales goal, according to Bloomberg (4).
Meanwhile, Meta cut its stock awards by roughly five percent for most of its workers earlier this year after slashing them by 10% in 2025. (5)
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Employees at these companies still have benefits such as healthcare. The cuts apply to perks that go beyond the basics and make these organizations competitive workplaces for job hunters.
Ravin Jesuthasan, a Future of Work expert and the global leader of Mercer's Transformation Services business, told Business Insider that companies are slashing "nice-to-have" benefits.
"We are hearing from a number of clients that they are considering actions to reduce cost, given the ongoing uncertainty in the global economy," he reportedly said.
Although Deloitte hasn't announced any layoffs yet, it's often the case that decreased worker benefits go hand-in-hand with layoffs. For example, when Home Depot demanded that employees return to the office in person, the corporation also laid off 800 people.
Meta has also been in the news concerning layoffs over the last few years. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he plans to lay off 8,000 workers in May and that more cuts are on the way through 2026 (6).
How to prepare for benefit cuts or layoffs
Obviously, no one wants to lose significant company perks or lose their jobs. But numerous organizations are implementing both of these changes, so it's wise to develop a plan and prepare financially in case you find yourself in a tough situation.
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First, beef up your emergency savings fund. Many experts recommend having three to six months' expenses in an emergency fund. If you haven't hit this amount yet, start working toward it so you have some breathing room if you are laid off and need a few months to find a new job.
If your emergency fund is set, consider setting aside money for specific goals.
For instance, many Deloitte employees just lost access to $50,000 reimbursements for IVF, adoption, or surrogacy. If your employer currently offers a similar benefit that is important to you, and you're worried about losing it, start saving money for that specific purpose. Then, if you end up using company assistance, you'll get to use the money for something else.
Take time to update your resume, and consider attending networking events or connecting with people in your field on LinkedIn. This way, if you lose your job or decide to leave due to decreased benefits, you won't be starting from square one. You'll be financially and professionally prepared to move forward.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Society for Human Resource Management (1); Business Insider (2),(3); Bloomberg (4); Financial Times (5); Reuters (6)
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Laura Grace Tarpley is a freelance journalist who has been working in digital media for 10 years. She focuses on personal finance topics, including banking, investing, retirement, loans, mortgages, and taxes. You can find her writing at TheStreet, Business Insider, The Penny Hoarder, and more.
