Riney lays off more than 5% of national staff

The firing last week of some 20 staffers from Hal Riney & Partners here and in New York and Chicago is more a reflection of the control of the agency’s new management team of president Tony Houghton and national creative director Joe O’Neill than client budget cuts.
The layoffs, which sent shock waves through the agency, pared more than 5% of the 330-person staff nationally, but the ax fell hardest in San Francisco where 13 people were let go including several, well-respected, middle management executives who had significant tenures at the agency.