
The CBI has suspended all activity until June after major companies terminated their membership or suspended collaboration due to the scandal engulfing the business lobby group.
The rush for the exit door came after the Guardian newspaper reported that a second woman had made a rape allegation - against two male CBI co-workers - building on the series of historic serious misconduct claims to have engulfed the body in recent weeks.
Meta, John Lewis, NatWest, BT, BMW, ITV and Unilever were among the big names to take action.
After a day of chaos, the CBI announced late on Friday that it would suspend all policy and membership activity until an extraordinary general meeting in June when they would put forward proposals to restructure the organisation.
"The CBI shares the shock and revulsion at the events that have taken place in our organisation, and at past failures that allowed these events to happen," the group said in a statement.
"We are deeply sorry and express our profound regret to the women who have endured these horrific experiences," they added.
Brian McBride was elected president of the CBI in June last year
They are known to have included, before Friday, the British Insurance Brokers' Association.
Shell is understood to have suspended dealings with the CBI last week.
The potential departure of abrdn would be acutely embarrassing for Mr McBride personally as he currently serves as a non-executive director at the firm.
Sky's City editor Mark Kleinman reported that the board had been debating whether to terminate its status as a CBI member once a CBI-commissioned review of sexual abuse allegations against staff members had been completed.
A source said that alternatively it could decide not to renew its membership when it expires at the end of this year.
A string of blue-chip companies, including Rolls-Royce and Marks & Spencer, have raised public concerns about the crisis.
Last week, the CBI sacked Tony Danker, its director general, after saying it had lost confidence in his ability to lead the organisation amid claims about his personal conduct.
Mr Danker told the BBC this week he had been "thrown under the bus" and said the allegations against him did not merit his dismissal.
He also apologised for making a number of CBI employees "uncomfortable".
Business leaders have lined up in recent weeks to denounce its handling of the crisis, saying it had been too slow to apologise and had erred by appointing an insider, Rain Newton-Smith, as Mr Danker's successor.
Three employees have been suspended, while a police investigation is under way.
The CBI said this week that the second phase of an inquiry by the law firm Fox Williams would conclude imminently.
"The board will be communicating its response to this and other steps we are taking to bring about the wider change that is needed early next week," the group said on Thursday.