According to several sources, VML Chicago recently underwent a round of staffing changes, parting ways with an unspecified number of employees in its creative, strategy and tech departments over the course of two weeks.
An agency spokesperson responded by stressing that the changes “were not a downsizing,” clarifying the agency was down just three employees from January, from 102 to 99, with “11 open hires currently.”
In response to an inquiry directly addressing changes in the aforementioned departments, the spokesperson added, “as our client business evolves, so does our need for re-evaluating the type of talent that we need to effectively work on the business.”
The changes came on the heels of a series of senior-level appointments, including the promotions of Julia Hammond and Chris Furse to roles as North American executive directors and the arrival of Rosanne Johnson from Red Fuse Communications in the same role.
These were the latest in a series of changes at VML’s U.S. offices this year to date: in January, the agency promoted John Godsey and Mike Wente to co-CCO roles while March saw several creative and production hires and a subsequent expansion of the WPP agency’s tech department.