Recruitment firm Robert Walters said it has cut more staff as the wider hiring market continues to struggle.

It came as the company told investors it no longer expected to make a profit for the year.

The firm is one of a raft of recruitment companies to have been knocked by the weak jobs market, after rival PageGroup also reduced its profit guidance earlier this week.

Toby Fowlston, chief executive of Robert Walters, said: “As seen throughout the year, 2024 closed with conditions in global hiring markets remaining challenging – marked by muted client and candidate confidence.”

On Tuesday, Robert Walters said it has cut the size of its workforce by 5% to 3,294 since the end of September, reflecting a reduction of 172 jobs.

It has axed almost 700 jobs over the past year, the group said.

The firm revealed that its net fee income tumbled by 17% to £75.5 million for the quarter to December 31.

It said fees were slightly weaker than expected as trading conditions remained “challenging” towards the end of 2024.

In the UK, the group saw income slide by 15% to £11.7 million for the period.

As a result, Mr Fowlston said the company expects “a broadly breakeven position at the profit before tax level” for the full year.

It had previous predicted it would make a profit for the year, with analysts pointing to a profit of around £2 million.

Mr Fowlston added: “Notwithstanding the market backdrop, we remain focused on our initiatives to strengthen the business.

“Consistent with the disciplined entrepreneurialism strategy set out at last year’s capital markets event, we are rigorously focused on improving fee earner productivity across our markets, driving efficiencies in our front and back-office teams, optimising our office network and leveraging more co-ordinated procurement.”