As We Predicted… GSD&M to Cut 200 Positions
November 13, 2007
As we predicted, Greed, Sex, Drugs & Money is dropping bodies after the lost of the AT&T business to Mediaedge. AdAge is reporting that between 100 and 200 staffers will be let go with most falling from the Texas, and Chicago offices.
Sorry guys.
Question for the recruiters out there – where do 200 bodies go? Not everyone in these locations is going to land on their feet, right?
November 13, 2007 at 10:04 pm
actually this layoff has been pretty transparent for awhile, many of the GSDM employees have been planning their escape for some time now. As it is with many people in Texas, they are prone to stay in TX hell or high water – AUSTIN HO!!!!; but many are looking elsewhere and getting some solid attention from some respectable shops on the coasts and a few up and comers in middle america. That being said, there are still some good kids with good talent that might not have caught wind that are left dangling.
November 13, 2007 at 10:40 pm
“Most of them falling from the Austin, Texas and Chicago offices.” Ha! That’s the only two offices they have! And only a handful of people in Chicago at that.
November 13, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Oops! Austin shouldn’t be in there. Apologies.
AS
November 14, 2007 at 3:02 am
Contrary to the posting a couple of days ago, i’ve heard that Saatchi & Saatchi LA is doing a lot of hiring and poaching….so if your looking to relo to LA…….
November 14, 2007 at 5:59 am
I think Ad Age is lowballing it. I expect the cuts to be around 300. The rumor is that GSD&M had an extensive list of layoffs prepared over a week ago, but that Omnicom demanded the cuts go even deeper.
November 14, 2007 at 6:24 am
[...] As We Predicted… GSD&M to Cut 200 Positions [image] As we predicted, Greed, Sex, Drugs & Money is dropping bodies after the lost of the AT&T business to Mediaedge. [...]
November 14, 2007 at 5:29 pm
I’d actually give them kudos if they gave people ample time and warning. there are two ways to do the inevitable and imho this is where you can build or damage a reputation faster than at any other time.
Astute Recruiter: do you know how this affected different departments? how many of these guys were creative vs other?
November 14, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Most of the people I know in GSDM are in Creative… and for them the layoffs have begun but are not finished as there is residual ATT work to be done. It should be obvious that Media is going to be especially hacked from all this. Accounts are going to be drained pretty well. All in all, Creative should be the least hit of all the departments – but respectively those are still huge numbers. One person I know with solid inside information said that GSDM is looking at cutting “about half the fucking agency”. Time will tell on this one but it makes sense.
November 14, 2007 at 7:37 pm
thank you, astute. that’s good to know (and thumbs up for responding).
seems like we’re tanking badly just about when I’m going to transition to london. (btw, anyone know creative recruiters over there?)
November 14, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Another thing for the GSDMers to know, I have recently heard that BBDO (ATL & NY) are not adverse to looking at the talent that was once on the account, esepecially writers… hope that gives all of you a beacon.
November 14, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Save your kudos, required.
It is nice that they are going to help those laid off get new jobs, but I wouldn’t exactly describe the way that they’ve been handling this situation as “responsible.” It was announced 3 weeks ago that there would be layoffs and they’ve just been letting their people suffer and worry since then. And the holidays are only getting closer and closer. Then it was announced again that layoffs would begin today, but as of 3pm, still not a peep. And 2.5 months of severance isn’t that generous, compared to other companies. Plus, this will be a really rough time of year to find a job.
Maybe they shouldn’t have spent money on new metal letters for their building…
November 15, 2007 at 8:22 am
astute: I can state with absolute certainty that none of the teams any creative would want to work on are in a position to add bodies. this being silver’s little crew and perhaps the mountain due guys (excuse me, gals). there is one team that needs to add people but I’d think twice before joining them.
unappreciated youth (isn’t all youth that? jk..great name): I didn’t say this had in fact happened this way. you missed that crucial IF – thus I’ll gladly capitalize it here for you.
nice is to tell people up front they’re gone, let them stay for eight or ten weeks so they can sort their shit out and let them take off as much time as they need to do interviews.
November 15, 2007 at 8:23 am
addendum: nobody fired now will get anything before january. that part is kind of fucked up.
November 15, 2007 at 12:07 pm
required – you are 100% correct. The best thing to do is get the hard part over with, i.e., give people the news. There will be grieving and whatnot, but catharsis as well. Everyone will know which way it falls for them. Then those staying could move on with their work, and those leaving could utilize the “Career Center”, find a job on their own, etc.
It HASN’T been that way at all. At least not yet. “Unappreciated” is exactly right. We’ve known layoffs might be coming for some time. We knew for certain once we lost AT&T media. On the day we lost the business, we were told “there won’t be enough work for everyone”. Speaking of which…now of all times…don’t we deserve to have it told straight? Not fuzzied up and friendly?
That was FOUR WEEKS AGO. Four weeks of knowing layoffs would be coming, but not knowing how many, or who, or when. Were you safe? Are you safe? You can imagine what that kind of Sword of Damocles will do to a workforce.
Then, Tuesday, after all that time of hearing nothing, we finally got a staff meeting and a date. The layoffs would begin Wednesday (or rather, they’d start “talking to people”).
But we still don’t know, even now, even after management’s claims of being “open and transparent”, how many people are being cut, how soon, if everything will happen all at once or over a period of weeks.
I – and I think a lot of others at the agency, probably the same ones who think the change to GSD&M’s Idea City was poorly thought out, esp. w/ regards to timing – would rather have it told straight. I’d rather have it dealt with directly, and just move on, whichever direction that may be.
November 15, 2007 at 3:46 pm
During that Tuesday meeting, Roy said “Judge us not by what we have to do, but how we do it.”
I’d say GSD&M fails on both counts.
November 15, 2007 at 4:32 pm
damn, that is frustrating to hear. you’d think if some agencies would get it right, these guys would be in that pool. good luck.
November 15, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Any word on whether the layoffs happened yesterday (Wed) or today? I have a few friends at the agency, but haven’t spoken to anyone yet.
November 18, 2007 at 9:10 am
I feel that the ad world should now just how shittily they handled everything from an inside perspective. A lot of us aren’t angry that we were being laid off but because of how stressful the process was. AND how ridiculous some of the decisions that were made are.
The agency lost HUGE clients and how do they handle it? By laying off of all their lowest paid, hard working young people. They laid off all 3 junior creatives (I was one of them), junior designers, people making 30 grand and under, and mid-level positions and not the dinosaurs who don’t understand simple things like the significance of the web and can’t win a new business pitch to save their lives (well our lives) and bring in quarter mils each. And it’s not just because I’m personally affected that I’m upset, but it’s advertising common sense that when an agency goes stale, it needs a talent transfusion of new, young blood. This was an opportunity to trim the fat from the agency and what they did was trim the raw, lean muscle. Who are the hack GCDs going to steal ideas from and take credit for now?? And how are they going to lay out my retail newspaper ads without a rudimentary knowledge of such advanced programs as InDesign CS3?
There are still some good people there and I wish them no ill will, but it’s hard not to think that the agency will be in rough shape now and even kind of hard to not want it to go down. It’s truly the bed they are making for themselves and what they deserve.
Finally, don’t pity those who were laid off. Time will prove that we were the lucky ones for getting to the life rafts first while the rest are overworked (at a company that has lost so much respect and credibility) and left waiting for the iceberg to hit.
And don’t act like it’s a big deal that you’re offering to help us find new jobs via resume help or career counseling because it’s easy to offer services that you know no one will take you up on after you have already bred dischord in them and alienated from the company. I’ll get my next job on my own and work ten times harder just out of spite!
I sound so bitter, but I really loved the company when I started there and just got put through the ringer during my only 1.25 years of service. Most of my time there was miserable and people who were supposed to mentor and help me grow knew it and knew there were ways to help me out and instead just let me rot. Big shout out to Marianne Malina on that one. So I’m happy that I got away from it one way or another. I compare it to finally getting away from an abusive boyfriend who makes you feel like shit and you know you don’t deserve, but you’re too afraid to leave because you don’t think you’ll find anything else. But we will. We’re all way better off.
-Lori
November 21, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Maybe ABC could pick this up as a new reality show – the comments in Austin show the usual range of bitterness and defensiveness…the vultures are gathering