Ogilvy has cut 80 staffers, which is about four percent of its workforce, following a “challenging second half of 2019 and a cautious outlook for year 2020,” according to a memo from CEO John Seifert.
 Leslie Sims |
Ogilvy is facing volatility throughout its client portfolio. “Despite important new business wins, we face client budget cuts and pricing pressures; ongoing shifts in the type and mix of work we do; and the dynamics of a project-based business model, which makes full-year forecasting and financial management very challenging,” Siefert wrote in the memo that was obtained by Advertising Age.
The WPP property is in the midst of a restructuring, which will result in “eliminating a whole layer of leadership roles” across the U.S., Siefert added.
As part of the reorganization, U.S. chief creative officer Leslie Sims is leaving the firm.
She spent 20 years at WPP’s Y&R and Interpublic’s McCann before taking the Oglivlly job in December 2018.
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