It is a bitter blow to the company as Sir Norman Foster is one of the best known architects in the world and is famous for the iconic Gherkin tower in London, the Reichstag in Berlin and the recently opened airport in Beijing.
But it is also perhaps not a surprise as the company has recently been hit by delays and cancellations in a number of key projects around the world. These include the £600 million Russia Tower in Moscow which would have been Europe's tallest tower but was cancelled last year, a skyscraper on the site of the World Trade Center in New York which has been delayed, Dublin's £162 million U2 Tower and the £78 million River Tower in Vietnam.
The move will see the company reducing its staff by almost a quarter and shows how the financial problems facing property markets around the world is impacting severely on related industries like architecture.
'A number of our international clients have fallen victim to the current economic climate and as a result some of their projects have been delayed or cancelled,' said chief executive Mouzhan Majidi.
Offices in Berlin and Istanbul will close at the end of March. With a presence in more than 20 countries and a turnover of £142m, Foster was widely considered to be well placed to ride out the recession.
Foster & Partners is unusual among architecture firms in that it has outside investors. London investment firm 3i Group made a minority investment of an undisclosed amount in 2007. At the time, both 3i and Sir Normand said the investment would fund the firm's expansion.
'Foster & Partners is a key investment and that hasn't changed,' said A 3i spokeswoman.