I'd blogged in the past about WPP and Omnicom layoffs, so I thought it would be only fair to mention the latest Publicis revelation as well. But this goes beyond just the fact they've had layoffs. Their own global leadership lied by ommission. Is anyone else disgusted by this? What else would they be willing to lie about? What kind of tone does this set for the entire company and all its many agencies? And I'm curious if clients have seen any drop in service or turnaround time as a result of the layoffs, yet didn't know why ...
BNET's apparently been keeping track of ad agency layoffs; here are their holding company layoff stats as of July 30:
- WPP - up to 7,200
- Omnicom - 3,500
- Interpublic - 3,000
- Publicis - 1,800
- The Nielsen Co. - 1,600
- Aegis - 780
The BNET Ad Agency Layoff Counter also breaks out the numbers by individual agency, if you're interested. The list does include agencies that tend to swing "pure digital" like Digitas and Razorfish.
Intouch is not on the list; we haven't had layoffs. But we work with a lot of these agencies and many of our associates (myself included) have been a part of these holding co's in the past. I truly am sorry for the jobs lost and the individuals affected. I hope the positive news we've been hearing lately about the economy hitting bottom and starting to turn around will help generate the jobs to help find these folks a new home.
Interested to learn more about my perspective on big agencies and big holding companies, and the advantages of being an independent agency like us? Here are a few of my favorite related past posts:
>> The Collaborative Agency Model
>> Why It's Great to Be An Independent Agency
>> WPP Agencies Ready Layoffs
>> Innovation Trumps Size
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