Starcom MediaVest Cuts 80 Jobs
Starcom MediaVest Group has laid off 80 employees Tuesday. The Publicis Groupe agency said the layoffs were simply part of a larger, routine restructuring plan and not as a result of some recent, high-profile business losses.
“We routinely evaluate all aspects of our business to map to our clients’ needs and the future. As a result, we are making talent calibrations across our U.S. operations,” the organization said in a statement.
The cuts will be made across the company and will not focus on any one department or client team.
MediaVest took a big hit earlier in the month when it was revealed that the company lost Walmart, one of its largest North America accounts. Walmart spent $907 million in U.S. measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media.
Late last year, SMG also lost some of its P&G business, retaining clients that sources close to the matter said would soon be sold off. It did, however, retain the bulk of its non-U.S. business. Mondelez also shifted some of its business from MediaVest, as did Coca-Cola.
The layoffs also follow Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy’s announcement late last year that the holding company would undergo a massive restructuring plan, which placed all media buying business—which includes Starcom MediaVest, ZenithOptimedia, VivaKi, Performics, MRY and Moxie—under one group named Publicis Media.
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