DraftFCB to Cut 50 in N.Y.

CHICAGO Interpublic Group’s DraftFCB in New York is set to cut 50 positions, or just over 3 percent of the office’s staff, in the wake of losing direct marketing duties on Verizon, an executive confirmed. The layoffs are expected to occur over the next 30 days.

DraftFCB worldwide president and chief operating officer Laurence Boschetto confirmed the cuts. Of the agency’s 175 staffers that worked on the Verizon account, about 90 will be placed in open positions and another 35 will move to sibling company MRM, which picked up the business DraftFCB had handled when Verizon reshuffled its agency roster in May, Boschetto said.