Wieden+Kennedy lays off 20% of its Portland staff

Wieden+Kennedy has laid off 20% of its Portland staff, or 90 employees, the independent agency announced. The move was made to better align with client work, according to Jason White, Wieden+Kennedy Portland’s president. Wieden had around 440 people on staff in Portland before the layoffs, a spokeswoman confirmed. “Layoffs are terrible. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” White said in a statement. “But, we’ve gotten to a place in Portland where we need to make changes to align better with how our clients work. Saying goodbye to any of our people is always a last resort, and we never make that decision lightly. Our focus right now is supporting everyone through this transition.” Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here The move was part of an agency restructuring and there aren’t any more planned layoffs, according to a spokeswoman for Wieden+Kennedy. The layoffs make Wieden’s New York office the largest by a wider margin within the independent network, with its current headcount of 479. W+K’s revenue has been relatively flat the past couple of years at around $300 million in the U.S., according to its latest Ad Age A-list submissions. Last year, the agency lost accounts such as TurboTax in Portland and Duracell in New York. The agency also picked up business with clients such as Ancestry in Portland and Coffee Mate in New York, among others.

Wieden+Kennedy lays off 20% of its Portland staff

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