Campaign reported analysts predict layoffs and restructuring at the new Omnicom will extend into 2026, which is like declaring the sky is blue and grass is green.
However, before it’s all over, there will be thousands of ex-staffers feeling blue when they stop collecting green from the White holding company.
It seems the only people profiting from the scenario are analysts submitting obtuse, obvious, and obnoxious perspectives.
Analysts expect Omnicom’s jobs restructuring to last into 2026
Omnicom maintains prediction of significant cuts next year is “speculation and inaccurate.”
By Gideon Spanier
Omnicom’s jobs restructuring in the wake of the Interpublic acquisition is set to last into 2026, according to leading investment analysts, who have predicted the US agency group will make a significant number of role reductions next year.
John Wren, the chief executive of Omnicom, previously announced 4000 redundancies on 1 December. At the time, he told Campaign he wanted to inform staff “as close to day one as we possibly can” in order to be “clear and fair and transparent” and avoid a “drip, drip, drip” of news, with a plan to complete those layoffs by the end of this month.
He said his aim was to reduce total staff headcount to about 105,000. That compares with 128,000 across Omnicom and IPG at the end of 2024, a reduction of 18%.
However, following the restructure announcement, analysts from US research firm Moffett Nathanson and UK investment bank Barclays have issued separate reports that suggest Omnicom is likely to make thousands of job reductions in 2026 to hit the 105,000 target.
Both Moffett Nathanson and Barclays estimated Omnicom will cut as many as 3000 additional roles. Moffett Nathanson predicted the reductions would probably fall during 2026, while Barclays suggested a longer timeframe lasting until 2027.
Omnicom dismissed those numbers. “This is speculation and inaccurate,” a spokesperson told Campaign.
The analysts based their calculations on previous job disclosures by Omnicom and IPG, including the revelation that the two agency groups lost 10,000 people from the payroll after exiting and selling smaller and non-core agencies, such as R/GA, during 2025.
Omnicom has not given a date as to when it expects to reduce headcount to 105,000, and the number is thought to be only an approximate target.
The company previously told Campaign on the day of the 1 December restructure announcement: “All planned merger-related layoffs will be completed by the end of December.”
However, Omnicom and IPG each cut thousands of jobs in the last 24 months, prior to the restructure. Omnicom’s staff numbers dropped by 3000 and IPG’s employee base fell by 4100 in 2024, partly because the latter sold some agencies. IPG’s staff figures tumbled by another 3200 in the first nine months of 2025.
Moffett Nathanson said what it called Omnicom’s “massive near-term headcount reductions” in the wake of the restructure should lead to a higher profit margin.
The full extent of the job cuts and other efficiencies, such as reduced office space, will mean Omnicom should be able to increase its expected annual savings from $750m to $1bn, according to the US research firm.
“We think the market is underestimating the scale of these additional cuts [in terms of the potential upside in terms of improved profitability],” Moffett Nathanson said.
Barclays also expects Omnicom to increase savings to $1bn as a result of the restructure. “Bigger job losses mean revised synergy estimates,” the investment bank said.
DDB, FCB and MullenLowe are being axed and merged into other creative networks as part of the restructure.
Wren has maintained that employees in client-facing roles will be protected and most job reductions are likely to fall on back-office staff. About 85% of staff will be in professional roles and 15% in back office after the restructure.
Omnicom used a number of third-party consultants, including AlixPartners, a management consultancy, for support ahead of the completion of the IPG deal.
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