The Martin Agency confirmed it has gone through a round of layoffs.
In a statement, The Martin Agency CEO Kristen Cavallo attributed the layoffs to evolving client scopes rather than “financial duress or suspended campaigns.” She also noted that the agency has produced work for 88% of its clients over the last six weeks and pivoted the kind of work it is providing for clients to address their evolving needs.
“There hasn’t been a one-size-fits-all solution for anything happening across our industry during these unpredictable times,” she said. “Our job is to propel forward in good times and bad, and we will continue to do our best to weigh all decisions with a balance of head and heart.”
The move follows IPG CEO Michael Roth addressing layoffs and cost-cutting measures in an internal memo released earlier this month. Last week, IPG Mediabrands implemented furloughs and layoffs across its agencies, and MRM McCann laid off around 5% of its staff across the U.S. About a week earlier, McCann Worldgroup implemented salary cuts, hiring freezes, furloughs and staff reductions across its agencies. Earlier that week, another IPG agency, Deutsch, laid off or furloughed around 10% of its staff in Los Angeles.
Here’s Cavallo’s statement in full:
In the last six weeks, we’ve produced work for 88% of our clients—an astounding feat at any time, but more so under these constraints. We have many clients that are lifelines or welcome interruptions right now, and have had reasons to engage. Our clients have noticed the work we’re creating across the Martin portfolio and some are changing what they pay us for. We are shifting to heavy up in areas like PR, animation, digital and strategy as clients plan their next move and the demand for inventive productions has skyrocketed. We are in a variable business and our workforce is built based on client scopes and future needs. When those change, our staff composition changes. Parting ways with a small number of employees was not born out of financial duress or suspended campaigns, but evolving scopes. There hasn’t been a one-size-fits-all solution for anything happening across our industry during these unpredictable times. Our job is to propel forward in good times and bad, and we will continue to do our best to weigh all decisions with a balance of head and heart.
If you have any information to share about agency changes, including layoffs or furloughs, you can send us a tip via the tip box or email us at agencyspymail@protonmail.com.