Around 60 jobs at Mazars could be axed before Christmas in a cruel seasonal surprise.

The accountancy firm says it could slash up to 5% of its 1,230-strong UK workforce after it informed staff of the devastating news this week.

Shell-shocked employees have now entered into a formal consultation process while the business decides which departments will be hit by the redundancy bullet.

A spokesman for Mazars, said: 'Mazars has made significant headway in the last few years, with good organic growth and profitability, however the continuing market conditions in the UK mean that, like most professional service firms, regrettably we are obliged to engage in a consultation process across our business that may result in redundancies of up to 5% of our workforce.

'Every effort will be made to consult and help those who are leaving us. Mazars has a highly talented team and will continue to provide the market leading support to our clients, that has always driven our growth.'Mazars, headquartered in St Katherine's Dock, London, has 17 regional offices peppered throughout the UK.According to the latest Accountancy UK firms league table figures from January 2012, the company reported fee income of £109m, up 6.3% from £102.5m on the previous year.