16886: IPG Holiday Sugarplums, Prunes, And Pink Slips.

 

Advertising Age reported IPG Mediabrands will lay off 103 employees on January 2, 2025. Happy Fucking New Year.

 

Ad Age stated the dismissal decision was made before Omnicom announced its intent to purchase IPG, implying the impending layoffs are not connected to the proposed acquisition.

 

Then again, Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren and IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky admitted they started discussing the merger over a year ago.

 

So, the holiday heave-ho could be the result of a “recent client loss” per the explanation from a Mediabrands spokeswoman—or it could be a preemptive reduction in redundancy.

 

“We are committed to supporting the transition of those impacted by providing resources, severance payments and continuation of benefits,” claimed the spokeswoman.

 

Just don’t expect to collect the annual holiday bonus, folks.

 

IPG Mediabrands To Lay Off 103 employees In January

 

Layoff plans were made before Omnicom announced its plans to purchase IPG, according to WARN notice

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

Interpublic Group of Cos. plans to lay off 103 Mediabrands employees on Jan. 2, according to a WARN notice it filed in the state of California weeks before its planned acquisition by Omnicom Group was announced.

 

IPG filed the WARN notice on Oct. 30. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires companies with 100 or more employees to notify of mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance.

 

The layoffs were a result of “a recent client loss,” a Mediabrands spokeswoman said in a statement, declining to identify the client. The WARN notice was filed weeks before Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that it had shifted its media business in the U.S. and Canada from Mediabrands’ UM to WPP.

 

“We are committed to supporting the transition of those impacted by providing resources, severance payments and continuation of benefits,” the spokeswoman added.   

 

Omnicom announced its plan to buy IPG on Monday. The deal is expected to lead to layoffs, as Omnicom said it would generate $750 million in annual cost synergies. The companies have not yet said how many jobs may be impacted by the proposed deal.