BNET's Ad Agency Layoff Counter: 44,616 Jobs Lost
The BNET Ad Agency layoff counter: Every time we hear about job losses at an ad business, we’ll update the count. Please email us using the link here if you hear of layoffs. (And yes, I know it doesn’t look like it works, but it does.)
At least 163,400 advertising jobs have been lost since the beginning of the recession. That total is based on a Bureau of Labor Statistics report as summarized by Ad Age. The headline total in this article includes only layoffs at ad agencies and other ad-oriented employers. (It does not include magazines, for instance.)
A partial list of publicly reported layoffs at agencies follows:
- Holding company totals
- WPP - up to 11,232
- Omnicom - 5,000
- Interpublic - 5,100
- Publicis - 1,800+
- The Nielsen Co. - 1,600
- MDC Partners - 1,300
- Aegis - 900
- Agency totals
- Lamar Advertising - 400
- Campbell-Ewald - 50-200
- BBDO’s North American agencies - 189
- Valassis Communications - 165
- BBDO Detroit - 195
- The Ogilvy Group North America - 150
- Spot Runner - 115
- Doner - 100
- Vertis Communications - 91
- Arnold Worldwide - 90
- Enfatico - 92
- Starcom MediaVest Chicago - 80
- Razorfish -116
- TBWA/Chiat/Day - 75
- Leo Burnett - 86
- Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos - about 74*
- Ogilvy Group UK (includes PR) - 71
- McCann Erickson SF - 160
- Razorfish - 70
- IMC2 - 70
- Digitas - 70
- DentsuNext - 65
- Comcast ad sales - 64
- Deutsch LA - 62
- Crispin Porter & Bogusky - 60
- The Richards Group - 100
- MacLaren McCann Canada - 53
- JWT Chicago - 50
- Euro RSCG NY - 50
- Tribal DDB Dallas - 40-50
- Deutsch/Lowe - 46
- MPG - 46
- GSD&M - 44
- Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London - 40
- McClain Finlon, Denver - 40
- Massive (Microsoft) - 37
- TM - 35
- Barkley, Kansas City - 30
- BBDO Atlanta - 30
- iCrossing - 30
- DDB LA - 30
- McCann New York - 60
- Mullen - 70
- Cliff Freeman - ~25, agency closed
- Team One - 25
- BBDO Detroit - 25
- McCaffery Gottlieb Lane, New York - 23 (bankrupt)
- PHD Atlanta - 23
- Modernista! - 23
- DMA 18 -21
- R/GA - 20
- DDB Chicago - 20
- Saatchi & Saatchi LA - 20
- Kolar Advertising & Marketing - 19
- Energy BBDO - 19
- Fallon - 18
- Grey London - 18
- WongDoody - 17
- Doner in Newport Beach - 15
- Adweek magazines - 15
- Rapp New York - 13
- BBH New York - 12
- MRM Worldwide - 12
- M&C Saatchi Sydney - 11
- Zeta Interactive - 10
- Wunderman - 10
- Fallon London - 10
- Droga5/Honeyshed - 10
- DDB - 10
- Lowe New York — 10
- Publicis West - 8-10
- Ad Age - about 10
- Zig, Toronto -10
- Curiosity Group - 8
- Cutwater - 8
- Attik - 7
- PHD Detroit - 7
- Rapp Chicago - 6
- Clemenger BBDO - 5
- Energy BBDO/Chicago - 3 or 4
- McGarryBowen - “some”
- Bernstein Rein - ?
- Y&R Detroit - “some”
- T3 - “some”
- Mobium Creative Group - “some”
- Rockett, Burkhead & Winslow - bankrutpcy, entire staff gone
- TAS Communications UK - bankruptcy, entire staff gone
- Smith Winchester - closed
* 10 at the agency in Boston, and 50 jobs axed at its New York studio.
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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