At least 18,000 jobs have been cut at agencies including Omnicom, Dentsu and WPP over the past 18 months, and the real figure is likely higher because many cuts go undisclosed. WPP has cut almost 11,000 roles since the start of 2025 and plans up to 1,000 more before the end of 2026. Most of those cuts fall on account, production and junior execution roles.
A smaller and more valuable group is also leaving: the engineers, data scientists and product managers who built the holding companies’ data and AI platforms. These people already understand media data, measurement and the major advertising platforms, which is the hardest part of hiring for ad tech.
Companies that move quickly and screen for the right kind of engineering experience can hire people who would otherwise take a year or more to find.
Key findings
- At least 18,000 jobs have been cut at agencies including Omnicom, Dentsu and WPP over the past 18 months.
- WPP has cut almost 11,000 roles since the start of 2025, bringing headcount to 97,388, and plans up to 1,000 more cuts in late 2026.
- Omnicom cut more than 4,000 roles after acquiring IPG. It laid off about 50 US product and engineering staff in June and moved at least 468 people working on its Omni AI platform to an outside technology firm.
- Agency fees have fallen to 19.2% of marketing budgets, and Gartner expects them to reach 15% by 2030, according to Gartner analyst Jay Wilson.
- Most holding company agencies in recent Gartner research reduced staff over the past year, while several independents increased hiring, Wilson told The Drum.
What the cuts actually release
The headline numbers overstate how much engineering talent is available. Gartner VP analyst Jay Wilson told The Drum that WPP’s cuts are likely to fall mostly on junior roles, as AI takes over execution tasks and the agency staffing pyramid flattens. Most of the 18,000 roles are in account management, production and planning, not engineering.
The technical talent is a smaller group, and it’s more concentrated. Omnicom’s Omni platform is one example. According to Adweek reporting, at least 468 people working on Omni were transferred to technology services company Endava in August, after about 50 US employees in Omnicom’s product and engineering division were laid off in June. Similar teams across the holding companies have built data platforms, measurement tools, clean-room integrations and AI planning systems over the past several years.
Some of those people are now on the market. Others are still employed but working for an outsourcing partner or a restructured unit, and they’re unsure where they’ll land. Both groups are worth recruiting.
Why agency engineers fit independent ad tech
Engineers who built agency data platforms bring knowledge that takes a long time to develop elsewhere. They’ve worked with walled-garden APIs, connected data across dozens of media platforms, built measurement and attribution pipelines, and handled client data under privacy rules. That’s much of the data layer that AI in ad tech depends on, and it’s the expertise most generic data engineering candidates lack.
They also understand how media buyers and clients work, which helps when building products for them. “The premium could increasingly go to people who can connect those systems to business outcomes, rather than those whose value is tied to maintaining a large technology operation,” revenue marketing strategist Kshitij A. Kulkarni told Impact. Engineers who have built tools for planners and buyers have practiced exactly that.
They’re in demand beyond ad tech. Wilson said several independent agencies have increased hiring while holding companies cut. Retail media networks, publishers and brands building in-house media teams are hiring for the same skills. Mid-size ad tech companies aren’t the only ones paying attention to this talent pool.
Screen for the right kind of engineering
Agency platform engineering and ad tech product engineering overlap, but they aren’t the same job. Agency platforms usually serve internal users and client teams. They run in batch more often than in real time, and they’re shaped by client deadlines and pitch cycles. Ad tech products often run at auction scale, measured in milliseconds, with uptime requirements and on-call rotations.
Some candidates have worked on both kinds of systems. Others have worked mainly on internal tools. A few questions help sort them out:
- Scale and latency. What volumes did the system handle, and did any part of it run in real time?
- Production ownership. Who was on call, how were incidents handled, and how often did the team ship?
- Users. Were the users internal planners, clients, or external customers paying for a product?
- Data and privacy work. What platforms did they integrate with, and how did they handle consent, identity and clean rooms?
- What happened to the platform. Understanding why a platform was cut, outsourced or folded into another unit can say a lot about the engineering decisions behind it.
A candidate who built internal tools can still be a strong hire, especially for data, measurement and integration roles. The point is to match each candidate to the work, not to treat every agency engineer as interchangeable.
Move before the market does
Experienced engineers who leave in a restructuring rarely stay available for long. A technical hire takes about 10 weeks to fill, which is long enough for someone else to make an offer first. Companies that want to hire from this pool are acting now:
- Open roles while cuts are being announced, not after the next round lands.
- Recruit the people still inside. Engineers transferred to outsourcing partners or left in restructured units are often open to a move.
- Make the offer easy to accept. Settle pay bands and remote policy up front, and explain clearly what the candidate would own. Candidates often make up their minds well before the offer arrives.
- Use contract-to-hire where it fits, so both sides can test the move without a long interview loop.
Mind the pipeline problem
There’s a longer-term risk. Gartner’s Wilson warned that cutting junior agency roles saves money now, but threatens the industry’s talent pipeline and succession planning. Many of the engineers available today learned media data at agencies that no longer hire juniors in the same numbers. Companies hiring from this pool should also invest in developing their own junior talent, because the agency pipeline that produced these engineers is shrinking.
Holding company restructuring is releasing experienced engineers who understand media data. Companies that have their roles open now, know what kind of engineering they need, and can make offers quickly will be able to hire them.
Frequently asked questions
How many jobs have advertising agencies cut recently?
At least 18,000 across agencies including Omnicom, Dentsu and WPP over the past 18 months. The real figure is likely higher, since many cuts aren’t disclosed.
Are agency layoffs mostly affecting engineers?
No. Most cuts fall on account, production and junior execution roles. A smaller group of engineers, data scientists and product managers who built agency data and AI platforms is also being cut or moved to outside firms.
Why are agency engineers valuable to ad tech companies?
They’ve built data, measurement and AI systems on top of major media platforms, worked with walled-garden APIs and clean rooms, and understand how buyers and clients work. That knowledge takes years to develop.
What’s the difference between agency platform engineering and ad tech product engineering?
Agency platforms often serve internal users and run in batch. Ad tech products often serve paying customers at auction scale and in real time, with on-call and uptime requirements. Some engineers have done both.
How should we interview former agency engineers?
Ask about system scale and latency, production ownership and on-call, who the users were, which data and privacy integrations they built, and why the platform was cut or outsourced.
How fast do we need to move to hire from agency layoffs?
Quickly. Technical hires take about 10 weeks on average, and experienced engineers released in a restructuring often have offers within weeks.
Who else is hiring former agency tech talent?
Independent agencies, retail media networks, publishers and brands building in-house media teams. Gartner’s Jay Wilson has said several independents increased hiring while holding companies cut.
Should we hire former agency engineers on contract or full-time?
It depends on the work. Contract-to-hire can work well when both sides want to test the fit, but people who will own core data and measurement systems should end up full-time.
