Publicis Groupe implemented cuts within its diversity, equity and inclusion teams at the end of last year—both at a holding company and individual agency level, according to several people close to the situation.

Geraldine White, who had served as chief diversity officer of Publicis Groupe since 2021, was removed from the position, and a spokesperson for the holding company said it is in the process of hiring her successor. White will continue to work with Publicis on a consulting basis in the immediate future, according to several people close to the situation.

In addition, nearly half of White’s 13-person team was laid off, Ad Age learned. This comes as Publicis is looking to “shift the direction of the team,” according to people close to the situation.

“Our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion has never been more important or purposeful, and that work continues with our teams across the organization,” a Publicis Groupe spokesperson said in a statement. “We thank Geraldine for her continued contributions to this important work, and look forward to sharing news of her successor very soon.”

White did not return requests for comment.

White had been with Publicis in various roles since 2007, working for Publicis Modem (the holding company’s now-defunct digital-centric brand) and Publicis Sapient in different marketing and interactive roles. She moved to DEI in 2019, taking up a job leading Publicis Sapient’s DEI function for North America.

One source said that Publicis had begun to question the resources its DEI team was investing in throughout the year, such as new initiatives and partnerships. 

DEI experts and ad executives have also told Ad Age that some companies are rebranding DEI to avoid conservative backlash, relaunching those teams without the terms “diversity” or “equity” or calling them “impact” teams with a renewed focus on sustainability. A current Publicis executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suspected the holding company could be trying to do that in its recent moves, and pointed to its hiring of Nannette LaFond-Dufour as its first chief impact officer in May.

Duane La Bom, who served as VP of human resources and chief diversity officer at Publicis’ Epsilon, was also let go at the end of 2024, according to two people familiar with the situation. La Bom has been a part of key projects for Epsilon, such as its annual gender pay gap report and its partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which had led to diverse hires at Epsilon in the past. Epsilon’s DEI budget had been reduced within the last year and two of the four people working under La Bom were also laid off, a source close to the matter said.

La Bom could not be reached for comment. The Publicis spokesperson did not comment on his departure.

A Publicis spokeswoman confirmed that Epsilon’s DEI team and commitment remain under a new senior VP of human resources, Kai Williams, who was hired to lead people and culture at Epsilon.

Lea Taylor, who led DEI for Publicis-owned Razorfish, was impacted by the broader layoffs in October that resulted in the loss of 150 to 200 employees at the holding company’s digital experience agencies, Ad Age previously reported. Razorfish and Taylor had declined comment for an earlier story and Taylor did not return a request for comment on this article.

The moves come amid what many in the industry have observed as a troubling trend of holding company agencies, in particular, eliminating or consolidating DEI positions amid overall cutbacks in budgets and resources devoted to DEI. Some people have blamed this deprioritization on the wave of U.S. conservative lawmakers and activists lodging attacks on DEI across the country, and predict there could be even steeper cuts under the Trump administration. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed rolling back DEI efforts, including taking federal funding from public schools that address issues such as racism or gender in their curricula.

In the wake of the cuts, some industry leaders criticized Publicis on social media for its “Wishes” holiday video at the end of the year, in which Snoop Dogg crowns the agency the No. 1 holding company in the world (prematurely, perhaps, as Omnicom soon after announced its plan to acquire Interpublic Group of Cos., which would make it the largest global agency company). Some of these leaders criticized Publicis Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun, who is seen Crip Walking in the video, for cultural appropriation.

“One week your CEO is rocking a hoodie and ‘dapping’ up Snoop in a social media post on your accounts, and literally, and I mean LITERALLY, the next week y’all are crip walking your DEI team out the back door,” Walter Geer, chief creative officer, innovation, VML North America, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “People are quick to embrace Black culture when it boosts their image or serves their interests. They profit from it by leveraging our creativity, our style, and our influence to appear relevant.”

Geer’s post drummed up more than 1,100 likes and 150 comments, with many people agreeing with his view.