You can’t escape it. Layoffs are happening in epic numbers and high levels, from very big agencies. Regional jobs are evaporating; local accounts are suddenly the belles of the ball. And the worst is not over yet.
How many jobs are we really talking about? As of Jan. 29, one blog’s Agency Layoff Tally was 6,902 US jobs, from agencies big and small. WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic and Publicis have all announced that they will be slashing jobs. And this in a year cushioned by the massive one-time ad spend from the Olympics and the presidential elections.
But not everyone is doing it hard. While cutting 10% of its workforce, WPP just bought two agencies and research giant Taylor Nelson Sofres. Over and above his US$10.3 million salary, Omnicom CEO John Wren received a bonus of $25 million in stock options (meaning shares he can choose to buy cheaply and sell at market price), days after he canned 3,500 employees.*
Manila’s industry is feeling the pinch as well. Already in conservation mode since early 2008, agency heads are at wits’ end from the battle to protect both employees’ jobs and regional balance sheets. Conference attendance, award entry fees and entertainment are just a few of the costs being cut. But as our Outlook 2009 section shows, optimism and gumption are just as important as fiscal discipline.
Is there a silver lining in all this? WPP has reportedly issued a memo ending the use of freelancers. But locally, some freelancers report quite steady work – a consequence of limited headcount and unlimited pitching.
Meanwhile, other creatives have plunged right in, reforming themselves for the times. Fired from Arnold in Boston, ACD/Copy-writer Erik Proulx started pleasefeedtheanimals.com in November 2008 to stay sane. From a support group for the freshly fired, ‘PFTA’ has now become a hiring resource, organizing resume banks and job searches to help its readers get out of the club. But founder Proulx still has to appeal for tech support and help.
And it’s only February.
* For a blood-boiling account of Wren’s and other estimated CEO compensations, adobo refers you to BNet Advertising, an innocuously named but formidably researched blog by former Adweek managing editor Jim Edwards.
(http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/1000513/omnicoms-john-wren-got-25-mil-stock-bonus-days-after-3500-layoffs/).
