Brooklyn-based independent creative agency Madwell has made a round of layoffs. The agency, which also has a presence in Denver and Hong Kong, laid off 10% of its staff of roughly 160 across the Madwell Group, according to the agency.
“For nearly 13 years, Madwell has grown consistently, retaining our team through ups and downs—and even the worst of the pandemic. As an independent agency, we have prided ourselves on our ability to make decisions not purely guided by the bottom line. Unfortunately, shifting economic realities and client budgets have required us to adjust accordingly. It was a gut-wrenching decision, but a necessary one for the continued health of the agency,” stated David Eisenman, CEO of Madwell, in a statement.
Several of those laid off tweeted out that it came somewhat unexpectedly, including one that wrote a timeline of what management allegedly told the staff, that people shouldn’t come into the office the previous day because there would be construction, but when they came in the next day, there was no construction and layoffs began at 10 a.m.
This is just the latest in a growing wave of layoffs by U.S. agencies, including Huge recently laying off 3% of its workforce and The Many going through multiple rounds of job cuts.
Madwell was founded in 2010 in Brooklyn by CCO Chris Sojka and William Hickox. Clients include Visible, Harmless Harvest, Verizon, Happy Family Organics and Rockport, among others. The agency recently was named AOR for electronics brand Denon.