McCann Relationship Marketing laying off 123 Michigan employees after losing some GM business

McCann Relationship Marketing LLC plans to lay off 123 employees at its office in Birmingham, Michigan after losing business from key client General Motors. The Interpublic Group of Cos. agency will complete the layoffs Oct. 15, according to a WARN notice filed with the state. That is two weeks after the date Commonwealth/McCann said it would eliminate 56 jobs in Detroit. Also read: GM’s Detroit agency cuts expected to cause big job losses The layoffs come as GM transfers work away from Detroit agencies that have long had accounts with the automaker. Impacted employees at McCann Relationship Marketing do not have bumping rights and are not represented by a union, according to the WARN notice. The agency still has work with GM. It is not clear how much its revenue is impacted. IPG declined to comment. GM’s pivot to out-of-town agencies has sparked criticism among some ad industry insiders and observers. Detroit-based Doner, which does ad work for Stellantis, created a $1 million fund to hire more talent amid the layoffs at its competitors. GM declined to comment on the layoffs. Commonwealth/McCann is expected to retain some work, including Chevrolet campaigns in several markets outside the U.S., Ad Age reported in June. The agency, which was behind Chevy’s new tagline “Together let’s drive,” has handled the bowtie brand’s ad work since 2012. ~ ~ ~CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the McCann Worldgroup entity impacted by the layoffs. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

McCann Relationship Marketing laying off 123 Michigan employees after losing some GM business

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