Two weeks after we posted on Campbell Ewald downsizing in its Detroit office, another round of layoffs hit the network this week.
An agency spokesperson clarified that C-E’s New York and Los Angeles offices were not affected but acknowledged that, “As earlier noted there have been layoffs this month in the Detroit and San Antonio offices. These layoffs represent about 10% of the total Campbell Ewald workforce.”
The downsizing move is directly tied to the loss of multiple accounts including–to our knowledge–USAA, U.S. Navy, Edward Jones and Henry Ford Health Center. Three of those four losses came about specifically because of the “Ghetto Day” email controversy while Y&R began working on the U.S. Navy business last month after a review and nearly a year’s worth of legal challenges.
We hear that the total let go in Detroit this week was in the mid-two-digit range and that the creative department was particularly affected. Campbell Ewald currently lists its workforce as 500-1000 employees, which indicates that the number let go over the last month totals somewhere between 50 and 100 based on the statement above. The agency named a new CEO and CCO last month.
MullenLowe has not responded to multiple email queries regarding the launch of its San Antonio office, which was created to take over the USAA account from C-E. We continue to hear that a small number of staffers who worked on that business at Campbell Ewald are now on the account at MullenLowe.
It’s unclear whether the Campbell Ewald San Antonio operation will stay open moving forward as it was a dedicated office serving USAA.