Omnicom will close historic agencies and cut 4,000 jobs after buying rival company | Companies

The deal turns Omnicom into the world’s largest advertising group by revenue, overtaking France’s Publicis and pushing WPP into third place.

The combination of Omnicom and IPG, which together operate dozens of agencies, will close down some of the industry’s most historic names.

Creative agency DDB, founded in 1949 and led by influential advertiser William Bernbach, and creative marketing agency MullenLowe will be combined into Omnicom’s TBWA, company executives said in an interview with the Financial Times.

FCB, which dates back to 1873 and is one of IPG’s largest global networks of agencies, will be absorbed by Omnicom’s BBDO.

More than 4,000 jobs will be cut as part of the IPG integration, mainly in management roles but also in some leadership roles, said the group’s president, John Wren.

Executives say the cuts should be viewed in the context of similar restructurings at rivals such as WPP, which is also expected to cut positions under new boss Cindy Rose.

“There are efficiency gains, which come in the form of labor and other things,” Ren said. “But anyone who was generating revenue before December last year is in a very good position with us today.”

The new round of layoffs is in addition to the thousands already announced by the two companies since signing the agreement last year. IPG cut 2,400 jobs in the first half of 2025, on top of about 4,000 jobs the previous year, reducing its headcount to about 51,000 employees. Omnicom cut 3,000 jobs last year, to about 75,000 employees.

Omnicom and IPG bring together some of the largest advertising and public relations agencies in Brazil, but it has not been made clear how the restructuring will affect companies operating in the country.

Under Omnicom’s leadership are advertising agencies AlmapBBDO, EnergyBBDO, Africa Creative, DM9, Lew’Lara\TBWA and iD\TBWA. In PR, Omnicom owns CDN, Ketchum, and Grupo In Press.

The group also owns brand operations (Interbrand), digital media (Outpromo and Global Shopper) and sports and entertainment (Fuse).

Advertising agencies WMcCann, FCB Brasil, IPG Mediabrands Brasil and R/GA already fall under the Interpublic umbrella. In public relations, he owns Weber Shandwick Group (TWSC). It also has brand (FutureBrand), digital (MRM), health (IPG Health) and innovation (Aldeiah) operations.

The merger between Omnicom and IPG, two of the four largest global agencies, comes against the backdrop of competitive pressures from technology giants such as Google and Meta, which provide tools and channels for brands’ marketing efforts.

Meanwhile, AI technologies are undermining the value of creative work in the industry by allowing companies to create ads more quickly and at a lower cost. Omnicom shares are down 17% this year in New York.

The deal cleared the final hurdle last week when it received approval from European regulators.

Omnicom will share investments in technology tools and AI platforms across the group. “We will have the largest media capacity and presence in the entire world,” Ren said, adding that this “gives us a tremendous opportunity.”