16823: Publicis Groupe Is On Fire—And On Firing Spree.

 

MediaPost reported Publicis Media axed over 100 US employees for failing to comply with RTO policies. Advertising Age reported up to 200 employees will also get cut from Publicis Groupe digital agencies, including Razorfish and Digitas—although it’s not clear if the digital dismissals are tied to RTO compliance.

 

Meanwhile, Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun gushed over Q3 results and declared “we should outperform the industry by 400 basis points on average in 2024.”

 

In short, Publicis Groupe terminates employees whether they come into the office or not—and while the White holding company is boasting strong performance.

 

The corporate motto “Viva La Difference” should be revised to “Viva La Indifference”.

 

Publicis Media Lets Go Of 100+ U.S. Staff Over RTO Compliance

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Publicis Media has parted ways with over 100 staffers in the U.S. because they did not comply with the agency group’s return-to-office policy.  

 

It wasn’t immediately clear which offices around the country the departures occurred. Publicis Media oversees agencies including Spark Foundry, Zenith and Publicis Health Media.

 

Last October Publicis Groupe announced that it would implement new companywide work-from-home policy—effective January 1 of this year—requiring employees to be in the office three days a week with Mondays a must for one of those days. Also consecutive work-from-home days are no longer allowed.  

 

While the new policy was rolled out globally at the start of this year, it was put into effect in the U.S. in the spring of 2023.  

 

In a video message to employees last fall, CEO Arthur Sadoun said work-from-home was a viable option during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he indicated that people are at their best workwise when they are interacting face-to-face in an office environment working together. Hence the post-COVID policy change. 

 

In regard to the recent U.S. departures Publicis Media issued a statement:

 

“We have been clear and consistent about our policy that employees work from the office at least three days a week—an expectation that is being met and exceeded by the majority of our talent. We do not comment on individual employment changes.”