‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly, Not Laid Off

Timing of Omnicom’s Staff Cuts Disrupts Positive Acquisition Communication   

12/5/25 – – A cardinal rule in corporate public relations is that there should be no layoffs between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Except in dire circumstances, announcements of major workforce reductions are best held until after the new year.

Considered destructive to morale and reputation, firing people during the holiday season risks brutal media coverage and negative financial analyst projections. It’s thought that even coldhearted investors, who typically find joy in the savings promised with headcount reductions, interpret Scrooge-like late-year terminations as a sign of trouble.

This time-honored PR wisdom (no, “PR wisdom” is not an oxymoron) was reaffirmed this week when the world’s largest advertising and marketing company violated its tenets.

Omnicom’s Desired Messages Are Drowned Out

On Monday, John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom (NYSE:OMC), participated in a series of trade and business media interviews presenting a positive outlook for his company’s recently completed $9 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG). His desired message: “Together, we will be the go-to company that shapes how brands grow, people connect and culture evolves.”

While Wren optimistically pitched synergies, size and sizzle, the resulting stories led with news of the 4,000 employees being terminated before Christmas.

Here are a few of the off-message headlines generated by Wren’s media tour:

Reuters – – “Omnicom to cut 4,000 jobs, fold legacy ad brands after IPG takeover”

Business Insider – – “Ad giant Omnicom says its mega-merger with IPG will lead to 4,000 job cuts”

ft.com – – “Omnicom to axe historic ad agencies and cut 4,000 jobs in IPG takeover”

There were no references to the layoffs in the company’s prepared announcement materials. But of course, every interviewer asked Wren about the merger’s impact on headcount. When he gave them the number and time frame, reporters tuned out his promises of operational efficiencies and heard “bah humbug.”

Getting the Timing of Layoffs Right

Most companies reducing staff in 2025 made their “right-sizing” announcements by early in the fourth quarter. Yesterday, the HR consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that through November, employers have announced 1,170,821 job cuts. That’s a 54% increase over the first eleven months of 2024, and the highest level since 2020.

Challenger pointed out that while employers “tend to announce layoff plans toward the end of the year to align with most companies’ fiscal year-ends . . . best practice dictated layoff plans would occur at times other than the holidays.”

Unfortunately, layoffs are a fact of corporate life. But there’s usually some wiggle room when it comes to timing.

In fairness to Omnicom, their acquisition received final clearance on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving. There were probably very good reasons to execute and disclose the planned terminations before the close of the year. So, required communication may have put the company on a collision course with PR wisdom.

Omnicom Will Weather This Holiday Storm

Most analysts, despite the headlines, are predicting that restructured Omnicom will succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s fractured, AI-driven communications environment.

Hopefully, Mr. Wren will seek counsel from Omnicom’s impressive stable of world-class PR firms whenever he interacts with the media. His company’s post-acquisition lineup includes FleishmanHillard, Golin, Ketchum, Porter Novelli, and Weber Shandwick. (Full disclosure: I was a partner in the New York office of FleishmanHillard.) All executives benefit from media training, especially mock reporter interviews, to heighten the chances of key messages breaking through – – no matter what time of year.

A final thought: While most people, including reporters, PR people and investors, believe the holidays deserve special respect, not everyone shares this spirit. For example, it has been reported that a miserly employer named Ebenezer Scrooge, when asked by his employee Bob Cratchit for just one day off each year to celebrate Christmas, responded:

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!”