Havas New York Lays Off ‘Less Than 20 Employees’ Across Multiple Departments

By Erik Oster 

More unfortunate holiday season layoff news today, as Havas New York has parted ways with what the agency describes as “less than 20 employees” across several departments.

The latter seems to contrast with rumors circulating around the layoffs, as one anonymous source claimed they exclusively targeted the agency’s creative department. Another such source described the layoffs as “massive,” resulting in a one quarter reduction of Havas New York’s creative department, mostly at the ACD-level, while another claimed “10+” creatives were impacted by the move.

The agency attributed the layoffs to restructuring. In response to our queries, a Havas New York spokesperson provided the following statement:

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The needs of the business are constantly changing. Recently we had to take steps to restructure the organization to operate more efficiently as we invest in the future. Unfortunately these changes affected a small percentage of our staff in New York. Decisions like these are never easy and we are doing all that we can to help those affected transition, placing individuals when appropriate, within the Havas family.

The news comes on the heels of the agency naming two new executive creative directors, hiring BBDO veteran Louis-Philippe or LP Tremblay and promoting group creative director Kate McCagg. Last year, the agency also welcomed new creative directors  Jonas Wittenmark and Tobias Carlson.

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