IPG sheds 800 staff ahead of Omnicom’s takeover
Global holding group IPG cut approximately 800 people from its staff in the September quarter in the lead up to becoming part of Omnicom.
This brings its total staff cuts for the nine months to 30 September to around 3,200.
IPG told investors the changes were “designed to transform our business, enhance our offerings and drive significant structural expense savings” over the longer term. In its quarterly report, it revealed these actions would cost between US$450 million (A$689 million) and US$475 million (A$728 million), and it expected the restructuring to be finished by the end of the calendar year.
In Australia, IPG operates IPG Mediabrands, with agencies including UM, Initiative, Reprise and Magna.
Omnicom, meanwhile, revealed last month it had spent almost A$200 million on severance costs this year as it prepared for its acquisition of IPG. Omnicom is the holding group which in Australia has agencies such as DDB, TBWA, OMD, PHD, Clemenger Group, and Hearts & Science.
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Elsewhere in its quarterly filing, IPG revealed it had total revenue of US$2.494 billion for the September quarter, down from US$2.629 billion in the same quarter last year. Its revenue for the first three quarters of the calendar year was US$7.353 billion, down from US$7.835 billion in 2024.
The Q3 report said: “While net revenue headwinds from earlier activity persisted in the third quarter, our organic performance underlying the impact of our largest losses was positive and improved from earlier in the year.
“We believe that we are positioned to continue that upward trend in the fourth quarter and into 2026, due to our pick-up in net new business in 2025, to new offerings including our principal trading platform, and to the significant changes we’ve made in the business through our program of strategic transformation. Our client offerings will be further enhanced by the very strong strategic fit with the capabilities and geographies at Omnicom.”
Its salaries and related expenses, however, as well as office and other direct expenses, were significantly down for both the quarter and the year-to-date.
In the September quarter of 2024, salaries and related expenses cost IPG US$4.594 billion. This year, this was down 9.4% to US$4.163 billion. For the September quarter of 2024, the cost was US$1.464 billion, which declined 6.4% to US$1.370 billion for this year’s quarter.
IPG’s unaudited finances for the year to 30 September, 2025. (Click to enlarge)
IPG and Omnicom entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger on 8 December last year, which the groups said would result in “IPG surviving the merger as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Omnicom”.
The shareholders of each organisation approved the acquisitions in March. Regulatory approvals have been granted in each relevant market – including in Australia via the ACCC – with the exception of the European Union (EU).
IPG told investors: “We are continuing to pursue the required EU regulatory approval and expect that the acquisition will close by the end of November 2025”.
Locally, Omnicom announced earlier this year that Nick Garrett would come on board as CEO to lead a single management structure, encompassing Omnicom Media Group and Omnicom Advertising Group. He reports directly to global chairman and CEO, John Wren, with Omnicom Oceania acting as a pilot model for the holdco.
Garrett was previously with the group as CEO of NZ-based Colenso BBDO, and then became the local CEO at Clemenger BBDO, before making the move to Deloitte.
In another pitch about the two companies coming together, IPG said in its US filing this week: “We believe that the forthcoming combination with Omnicom offers compelling benefits for clients and shareholders. Combining our deep pools of talent, and our complementary capabilities, geographic strengths, and platform assets, will result in an organisation with unmatched ability to deliver business outcomes for marketers in every industry sector, around the world.
“Together, we are confident that we will create a company that can drive growth for clients with the most comprehensive and powerful range of marketing and sales solutions incorporating data, media, creativity, and technology. It’s an exciting vision and one that we are confident will soon become a reality.”
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