A ‘Difficult Day’ at DLA Piper as Firm Plots 200 Layoffs

DLA Piper announced Wednesday it plans to lay off up to 200 business support jobs in the U.K., with Leeds and Sheffield most affected.

“Today is a difficult day,” said Andrew Darwin, chief operating officer at DLA Piper. “We know that, however hard we try, it will be difficult for individuals.”

The 200 “proposed” reductions will affect IT, finance, HR, marketing and business development, and secretarial teams in the firm’s seven U.K. offices. Those positions will be transitioned to the firm’s back office operations in Warsaw.

In total, the U.K. layoffs are expected to affect 18 percent of the firm’s overall staff ...