Sharb Farjami, CEO of GroupM North America, told employees during a company-wide town hall Friday afternoon that a sweeping organizational restructure will “impact about 40% to 45% of our entire workforce,” according to a recording of an all-hands obtained by ADWEEK.
“This has been a pretty tough week for us,” Farjami said. “There have been colleagues that have left our business… It can feel very destabilizing.”
When asked what ‘impacted’ meant, a GroupM spokesperson said the 40%-45% figure “does not refer to people who are departing the business” but “is in reference to how we’re bringing teams together.”
The spokesperson also clarified that the figure refers to U.S.-based employees specifically. They declined to comment on whether the shift will include future layoffs.
The new department—Media Management and Delivery, or MMD—will absorb investment, Nexus, and campaign reporting functions into a unified division. The leaders at the meeting did not clarify whether the impacted roles would include layoffs, reassignments, or other organizational changes.
Agency brands won’t go away
During the 2 p.m. ET meeting, agency leadership reiterated that the changes are part of a broader plan to shift to a “single operating model” across GroupM North America. “The agency brands will continue to exist… What they cease to be is individual, distinct business units,” said one executive, whom ADWEEK was unable to identify. “They will cease to operate business P&Ls in the market, but they will continue to be homes for our clients.”
Employees were told to expect a follow-up email detailing the next steps, as well as a question form they can fill out.
The update follows ADWEEK’s earlier report that layoffs had begun at the media network earlier this week—days after the agency reportedly rebranded from GroupM to WPP Media.
The meeting reiterated details from a leaked memo.
A leaked memo sent by GroupM CEO Brian Lesser on Monday, which has been obtained by ADWEEK, also outlined changes including the shift to a single operating model, agency title restructuring, and the integration of Nexus and investment functions.
“As part of this process, we’ve had to make difficult decisions as we work to improve our team structure and reduce overlap,” Lesser wrote. “This will affect some roles across our markets.”
GroupM leadership sent a new memo to employees after the meeting
