City job cuts could soon be a thing of the past, says headhunting firm Robert Walters. The accountancy and legal recruitment business expects to see an upswing in demand for its services, as the City embarks on an aggressive period of hiring.

However, because banks have been trying to reduce the fees they pay for recruiting services over the past year, the firm has reported a 14% drop in turnover for 2003. In the UK, it announced that turnover had dropped 22%.

Neil Jennings, Metro market manager for London, City and Docklands, defended the banks’ decision to demand lower fees. “When companies don’t make as much money they start to cut back – whether it’s paper clips or recruitment,” he said.

“But market forces take control – when experienced people become scarce – they have to pay more money. We had problems with percentage fees when candidates were more readily available. But if you need 10 people very quickly, then you are going to have to pay more.”