Ad holding company giant Omnicom furloughs and lays offs employees worldwide - read the CEO's internal memo
- Omnicom, the world's second-largest advertising holding company, confirmed in a memo from CEO John Wren that it would furlough and lay off staff due to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
- In the memo, Wren thanked employees but wrote that Omnicom has to "respond quickly to the reality of the moment." He also outlined other cost-cutting steps.
- Omnicom follows rival holding company Dentsu, which instituted furloughs and pay cuts earlier this month.
- During the last economic downturn in 2018, the company laid off an estimated 5% of its global workforce, or about 3,500 people.
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John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom, sent a memo to all employees today stating that the world's second-largest ad holding company would furlough and lay off staff across its global agency network due to the economic effects of the coronavirus.
The full memo, which is included below, thanks employees for their work but stated that "we have to respond quickly to the reality of the moment" by reducing expenses in ways that would affect Omnicom's 70,000-plus employees worldwide.
An Omnicom spokesperson declined to comment.
A source who is known to Business Insider but requested anonymity because they are not to comment said the company, which includes agencies such as BBDO, OMD, and TBWA\Chiat\Day, said furloughs were expected to begin this week.
The scale of the changes is unclear. During the last economic downturn in 2008, Omnicom laid off at least 5% of its global workforce, which amounted to 3,500 people or more. Analysts said the current recovery would most likely be longer and more challenging for the ad industry.
Read the full memo below.
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