Droga5 cuts 7 percent of U.S. staff
Accenture Interactive-owned Droga5 has confirmed it cut 7 percent of its U.S. staff.
"Droga5 has made the decision to transition out a number of our people as we continue managing our business for the long term to best serve our clients," an agency spokesperson said in a statement to Ad Age. "All of those affected will be provided severance benefits. We are grateful for all of their contributions to the agency."
Business Insider, which first reported the layoffs, said the cuts were concentrated in the agency's New York headquarters and affected about 40 people across all levels and departments.
The layoffs at Droga5 are just the most recent in a string of job cuts across the industry fueled by the pandemic.
Wieden + Kennedy had been the most recent agency to announce staff cuts. In July, the independent shop said it laid off 11 percent of its employees worldwide.
Other agencies that have announced layoffs since the start of the pandemic include Havas Group, Edelman, Saatchi & Saatchi, VaynerMedia, Weber Shandwick, Golin, GroupM, BBH, Johannes Leonardo, R/GA, Wasserman, CPB, McCann, Grey, MullenLowe, Giant Spoon and Anomaly.
WPP, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group of Cos. and Dentsu Inc.'s Dentsu Aegis Network have also implemented holding company-wide layoffs and furloughs.
Droga5 was acquired by Accenture Interactive for an estimated $475 million in April 2019.
According to Business Insider, the layoffs at Droga5 were a result of the agency's business and not related to the financial performance of its parent. The Australian Financial Review, however, reported in August that Accenture would be laying off 5 percent of its global staff, amounting to about 25,000 people. Earlier in August, Accenture Interactive announced its most recent acquisition of CreativeDrive, a global tech-driven content production company.
