GroupM tells staff about redundancies as restructure hits UK

Campaign understands that GroupM employees in the UK are being told this week which roles are at risk of redundancy as part of global chief executive Brian Lesser’s efforts to restructure the media arm.

 

Some staff were told yesterday (May 20) but the process is ongoing. At present it is unclear how many roles are at risk, but it is thought that investment roles at EssenceMediacom will be affected as well as roles at Nexus, including its client leadership team. 

 

Roles at Mindshare London, Wavemaker and GroupM OOH are also expected to be affected.

 

GroupM, owned by WPP, declined to comment when approached by Campaign.

 

The announcement follows Lesser’s decision to merge the Group M agencies into a single P&L, outlined in a memo to staff on May 6.

 

As part of the restructure, agency brands Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and T&Pm are being moved to a single P&L, though they will retain their names and remain to house dedicated client teams.

 

The plan also included integrating Nexus and Investment roles into one department, called Media Management and Delivery, to “scale [WPP’s] core media activation capability”.

 

In the memo, Lesser said the changes would “affect some roles across our markets” and US employees were reportedly the first to be affected on 9 May. 

 

The changes, globally, were all expected to be completed by “mid-year”.

 

GroupM is the world's biggest media buyer with around 40,000 staff globally. In the UK, GroupM manages upwards of US$4.3 billion of billings, according to Campaign's School Reports. 

 

The shake-up has also affected GroupM roles in Asian markets, according to Campaign Asia.

 

GroupM UK’s total headcount was not immediately available but it employed close to 2,000 at its three main agencies, according to their most recent School Reports, as EssenceMediacom had 1,055 staff, Wavemaker 523 and Mindshare 340.

 

In the UK, employees are entitled to a consultation in the event of redundancy. If between 20 and 99 redundancies are being made, UK employment law stipulates that consultation must start at least 30 days before any dismissals take effect. For 100 or more redundancies, the consultation must start at least 45 days before any dismissals.