Update: A representative from the agency contacted us to confirm the bad news we reported below — IMC2 is letting 17 percent of its staff go. Click continued to read a heartfelt letter from agency president Doug Levy, who attributes the layoffs to media cutbacks.
We’ve contacted Dallas based digital agency IMC2 (squared) more than once about a rumor that they’re undergoing layoffs this week, but they haven’t gotten back to us. So here’s what we’ve heard — apologies for the redundancy.
— “imc2 is cutting ~20% of their workforce — all offices affected (with dallas getting the brunt of the force. layoffs started yesterday and continue through today. everyone is sitting around waiting for the tap from their manager to either say they’re out or they get to keep their job (for now).”
— “imc2, a little digital agency in Dallas, with offices in NY and Philly, is set to layoff 70 (about 1/4 of the total staff). But I’m sure client work for P&G, GSK, Pizza Hut, diet Coke, etc. won’t be interrupted… I guess they should have sold out to a holding company when they had the myriad chances”
— “Apparently, Dallas agency IMC2 had huge layoffs today… like 15% of their staff. (according to an insider). Not sure what business they lost though..”
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Team,
As you know, there are dramatic changes going on in the economy. Many of our clients have cut back on their marketing spending now and have decreased their budgets for next year based on what is happening in their businesses.
In preparation for what might be a significant and prolonged recession, we have determined that the most responsible course of action is to reduce our costs. We will be eliminating approximately 17% of our positions, and we’ll be communicating the details of these changes this week.
Specifically, we will be restructuring our operations to support our focus on delivering exceptional work for clients. Also, we grew our internal functions over the last two years in anticipation of continued rapid annual growth; this restructuring includes a significant decrease in internal company services that is in line with much more conservative revenue growth projections.
The decision to eliminate positions was incredibly painful for me and for our other leaders. It’s gut-wrenching to say goodbye to passionate and talented colleagues who have worked alongside us. These are people who are dedicated and talented and have contributed to building our company and serving our clients. I sincerely apologize to the people who will be impacted by this decision, and I thank you for your service. I desperately wish we could have you here to continue contributing to our success.
This is a particularly difficult action because there are so many positive things going on here. I’m proud of much of the work we are creating for our clients and the contributions we’re making to fostering closer relationships between brands and people. I see us blending unique thinking and powerful execution to add value for our clients. That value proposition is resonating with many clients and prospective clients; just this week, for example, we won major new assignments with two clients.
Our clients need help to succeed in this quickly changing marketing landscape, and I’m proud that in many cases, we’re stepping up to the opportunity to guide them.
The best thing we can do — in any economic situation — is to create ideas that drive our clients’ business results. We’ll be talking in the coming weeks, starting with meetings in each office later this week, about ways we will continue to evolve and improve our approach for doing so.
This reduction in our staff is a painful change. However, given the likelihood of an extended recession, we believe that we are doing what’s necessary to ensure a vibrant long-term future for our company and its people and clients.
Doug