Omnicom to cut 4,000 jobs; 85% of jobs to become client-facing

New Delhi: Omnicom will lay off more than 4,000 employees and fold several long-established agency networks into its core brands as part of the integration of Interpublic Group.

The group said the restructuring will leave about 85% of its workforce in client-facing roles and 15% in support and administrative functions, according to news reports.

The cuts will fall largely on back-office teams and other non-billable roles, though some executive positions will also be impacted.

As part of the consolidation, Omnicom will integrate DDB, the creative agency founded in 1949, and IPG’s creative marketing agency MullenLowe into the TBWA network. FCB, one of the world’s oldest and largest agency brands with roots going back to 1873, will be absorbed into BBDO.

These moves effectively retire some of the industry’s most storied agency names from the front line, as Omnicom pursues fewer, larger global networks with broader capabilities and stronger P&L leverage.

The company said the job reductions and brand consolidations are central to delivering the cost savings and efficiencies promised from the IPG acquisition. The restructuring is projected to generate more than $750 million in annual cost synergies, higher than the initial guidance given to shareholders.

The overhaul comes as holding companies face structural pressure from AI-driven automation and self-serve advertising platforms such as those offered by Meta, which allow advertisers to plan and execute campaigns with far leaner support from traditional agency teams.

Omnicom has pitched the IPG deal as a way to bulk up and compete more aggressively with Publicis and WPP in a consolidating global market, using combined scale, data and technology to anchor larger, integrated mandates from multinational clients.

The group had already been trimming headcount even before the latest announcement. Omnicom reduced its staff by about 3,000 last year to roughly 75,000 people, while Interpublic laid off around 3,200 employees in the first nine months of 2025, according to regulatory filings.

Omnicom said it would communicate the latest round of job cuts “as promptly as possible” in order to maintain transparency and protect the privacy of affected employees.