Omnicom to cut headcount by 15,000 by year-end

Omnicom is targeting a roughly 15,000-person reduction in headcount by the end of 2026 as the advertising giant continues integrating Interpublic Group and pursuing $US1.5 billion in gross cost synergies.

The company expects to finish the year with about 105,000 employees, down from roughly 120,000 at the end of 2025. However, the change is broader than 15,000 direct redundancies, with Omnicom saying the figure also reflects outsourcing, offshoring and employees leaving the group through business disposals.

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Headcount target includes disposals

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Omnicom chief financial officer Philip Angelastro said the 105,000 figure remained a reasonable estimate for the end of the year.

Angelastro said merger-related reductions were largely focused on duplicated corporate costs and regional management, alongside opportunities for outsourcing and offshoring. The company is also disposing of businesses as it reshapes the combined Omnicom and IPG portfolio.

“Those headcount changes really have not impacted client-facing people very much at all,” Angelastro said.

Omnicom had already begun cutting roles following the completion of its IPG acquisition in November 2025. In December, more than 4,000 global roles were expected to go as the group consolidated management and retired agency brands including DDB, FCB and MullenLowe.

Media integration moves faster than advertising

Angelastro said the integration of the two companies had progressed particularly quickly in media, which now represents more than half of Omnicom’s core operations revenue and recorded double-digit organic growth in the June quarter.

Advertising has proved more difficult. Angelastro said combining the Omnicom and IPG portfolios had required extensive changes globally, including eliminating brands and repositioning businesses.

“I think the biggest challenge we've faced has been in the advertising business in bringing together both Interpublic Group portfolio and the Omnicom portfolio,” he said.

Advertising represented 15.7 per cent of Omnicom’s core operations revenue in the June quarter, compared with 52.5 per cent for integrated media.

Omnicom’s core operations generated $US6 billion in second-quarter revenue, with organic growth of 6.1 per cent. The company is guiding to full-year organic growth of between 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent.

Pepsi loss under review

The integration update follows the loss of PepsiCo’s global media business to Publicis Groupe. Omnicom retains parts of the relationship across public relations, creative and sports activation.

Angelastro described the media loss as “a disappointment” and said Omnicom was conducting a detailed review of what went wrong. He said the company did not currently expect the change to have a significant effect on its 2027 results.