Arcadis AYH became the latest consultant to complete a redundancy consultation last week as the sector continued to make drastic cuts

Job losses are understood to have affected the public sector team as well as other divisions, in the latest sign that government work is no longer a safe haven.

Last year, many firms reported that they were bolstering public sector staff in a bid to prevent redundancies and increase public bidding power. But some consultants are thought to be reconsidering this strategy as programmes, including college and court schemes, are delayed.

Arcadis AYH refused to comment on the number of redundancies. Last month it said it was in consultation to cut up to 99 jobs.

The news comes as funding problems in the Middle East continued to cause headaches for British consultants.

Euan McEwan, Currie & Brown鈥檚 chief executive, is understood to have travelled to the UAE last week for strategy meetings with Abu Dhabi investment fund Al Qudra, amid fears Abu Dhabi is suffering knock-on effects from the slowdown in Dubai, where 拢53bn of property schemes have been put on hold. The Abu Dhabi government has already admitted to rethinking projects abroad, including a 拢3bn wind farm in the Thames estuary.

Currie & Brown said it did not discuss client business.

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