GroupM confirms 'small number' of Australian redundancies as part of global restructure

GroupM has confirmed it has made redundancies across its Australian operations as part of a broader strategic restructure under parent company WPP.

A source affected by the changes told Mediaweek a number of employees had been let go across "the agency's investment teams" earlier this week.

GroupM's agencies include EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, and Wavemaker.

A GroupM spokesperson confirmed "a small number" of redundancies were made, telling Mediaweek: “Like many businesses, we are continuing to evolve our strategy and structure for the future.

"Unfortunately, this has meant that we have made a very small number of roles redundant locally. While the impact is limited, we recognise that these decisions are not easy and do impact people’s lives.

"We’d like to thank those people for everything they’ve done as part of GroupM and we will continue to support them and our people through this process.”

Rebrand ahead

While GroupM did not confirm the exact number of employees let go, Mediaweek understands the changes span several business areas. Staff have been notified and there are not expected to be further job losses.

The restructure follows news that GroupM is to restructure globally and rebrand as WPP Media.

As one of the world’s largest media investment companies managing over $60 billion in annual media spend, the company has not been immune to broader industry pressures.

A soft advertising market, global economic uncertainty, and the rapid rise of AI have accelerated a sector-wide push to streamline operations, eliminate legacy structures, and drive greater efficiency.

While restructures globally mean significant change to GroupM operations, locally the impact is understood to be less dramatic.

During WPP’s 2024 annual results presentation in January, CEO Brian Lesser told staff, “We know that we have to be simpler and there is more work to do.”

He added, “We are further simplifying our structure to become a unified company with one voice to clients and partners.”

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