Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at how global firms are rethinking where – and how – they build teams. We saw EY invest in Argentina to scale delivery, Deloitte expand in Brazil to support broader operations, and KPMG restructure key roles in Mexico without pushing for size.
This week, we turn to PwC’s presence in Colombia, where the firm employs over 2,000 professionals. What we found reflects a now-familiar pattern: a well-structured team, meaningful cost efficiency, and no compromise on role diversity or professional integrity.
🧮 Colombia vs. U.S.: A Role-by-Role Comparison
For this analysis, we examined a representative sample of 1,740 professionals in Colombia. As in previous case studies, interns and executives were excluded, in order to focus on delivery, technical, and leadership roles. Salary data was sourced from local benchmarks, salary surveys, Indeed, Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and Comparably.
Here’s how the monthly cost comparison looks:
| Seniority | $ per Month (Colombia) | $ per Month (USA) | Headcount |
| Core junior delivery staff | $990,000 | $5,400,000 | 900 |
| Mid-level technical roles | $900,000 | $4,250,000 | 500 |
| Project/Team leads | $600,000 | $2,300,000 | 200 |
| Higher-level client leaders | $630,000 | $2,240,000 | 140 |
| Total | $3,120,000 | $14,190,000 | 1,740 |
💡 The result: a 78% cost difference between the Colombian team and a U.S.-based equivalent.
🌎 Why Colombia?
As with Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, Colombia offers a strong base of professionals with experience in global service delivery, bilingual, and working in U.S.-aligned time zones. But PwC’s case also shows something more structural: a team that’s balanced across roles – not limited to junior staff – and embedded in the firm’s broader operations.
This isn’t a satellite office doing isolated work. It’s a functional extension of PwC’s delivery model, built with long-term efficiency in mind.
🔍 What Makes PwC’s Model Notable?
- Role diversity: The Colombian team includes not just junior staff, but leadership and client-facing positions, suggesting deeper operational integration.
- Stable structure: With 1,740 professionals in this sample, the team size supports meaningful delivery capacity without overscaling.
- Significant financial impact: A monthly difference of over $11 million, with professional roles spanning multiple functions and levels.
🧠 Looking Across the Region
As more firms consider Latin America not just as an outsourcing destination but a source of long-term talent, we’re seeing different companies apply different strategies:
- EY scaled up for volume in Argentina.
- Deloitte built operational breadth in Brazil.
- KPMG refined structure in Mexico.
- PwC, in Colombia, found a model that balances scale, structure, and cost control.
Each case reflects a unique approach, but all signal the same shift: global hiring no longer means just looking for lower cost – it means looking for a smarter structure.
📌 Final Thought
PwC’s Colombia team isn’t just a cost-saving measure. It’s a workforce model grounded in function, continuity, and sustainable economics.
The lesson?
Latin America is no longer a backup plan – for many, it’s becoming the backbone of global delivery.
No responses yet