Publicis Groupe to cut costs by €500m to face ‘the coming recession’
Publcis Groupe – responsible for agencies including Starcom, Zenith, Spark Foundry and Saatchi & Saatchi – has reported its financial results for Q1 of the calendar year, noting the impacts of COVID-19 (coronavirus) are already being felt.
The holding group said it would be implementing exceptional measures to face the coming recession including a €500m (AU$854.85m) cost reduction plan and compensation reductions.
Publicis is preparing for the worst
The supervisory board chairman, Maurice Lévy, and Groupe CEO, Arthur Sadoun will take a 30% reduction in fixed compensation, while the management board members will take 20%. Dividends will be cut by 50%.
Dividends will be cut by 50%. Sounds like your investors are being prioritised, not your people.
In 2009, I worked for a Publicis Group agency. After many people had been made redundant during the Great Recession or the GFC as it’s known in Australia, an email was sent out by head office in Paris. It said that all those who worked with them through that crisis would be issued with shares of Publicis to the value of about $2,000. It went to everyone around the world. They never delivered on their promise. I don’t work for them now. I’ve never forgotten it.