Technology and data driven agencies Kinesso and Annalect, part of IPG before the takeover by Omnicom, are being dissolved, according to insiders.
Staff were called to a meeting and told to update email signatures to Omnicom Media.
No layoffs were reported.
“Both Kinesso and Annalect had similar but separate meetings at the same exact time,” one staff member said.
“The news was just that both agencies will be sunset and rolled into Omnicom Media. No other changes announced.”
The retirement of the Kinesso and Annalect brands is part of a global move to simplify Omnicom Media's brand portfolio and bring capabilities together under a more integrated operating model.
Omnicom aims to make it easier for clients to access connected expertise across media, data, technology, commerce and analytics.
In Australia, the capabilities previously operating under those brands are being integrated into Omnicom Media's structure.
No local redundancies have been reported.
One insider said Omnicom globally has begun transferring engineering and technical teams from Kinesso, Acxiom, Annalect, and Flywheel to outside technology services and IT consulting company Endav.
“For many employees, particularly those with long tenures, the process has felt less like a strategic transformation and more like a workforce transfer designed to move people off Omnicom's books without the protections typically associated with layoffs or restructuring programs,” the insider said.
“Engineers who spent years, and in some cases decades, building platforms, products, and technical capabilities for Omnicom are being asked to leave the company and join a third-party services provider while continuing much of the same work.”
The insider described the change as a major shift in how Omnicom manages technology talent and a defining moment for many employees who have invested substantial portions of their careers in the company.
The takeover of IPG, which was finalised in November last year, created the world’s biggest global advertising group with 100,000 people and expected full year revenue of $US25.6 billion.
Most of the $US1.5 billion in planned cost savings from the takeover of IPG will come from headcount.
The global advertising group is aiming for cuts of $US900 million this year. Of that $US650 will come from labour-related costs, according to a presentation post the release of December quarter results.
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