I just read a few minutes ago that Razorfish, one of the top digital agencies, and one my company, Ascentium’s, chief competitors, announced layoffs of 70 people. This is hours after I heard about Crispin, Porter, & Bugusky, one of the brightest shining stars in the advertising agency world, and a partner of Ascentium, announced layoffs of 60 people this morning. Both companies are considered at the top of the industry. Both excel at creative ideas, well-executed and yet both are taking pretty big hits on the same day. And personally, I know people at both companies from our work together at Microsoft. So what does this mean?
The deep answer is I don’t know yet, but it will make me take a look in the mirror and make sure I’m doing everything at my company so that we don’t suffer the same fate. However the more immediate answer is that this sends a clear signal about the progression of this economic downturn. When good companies make cuts, it’s a sure sign that even in the new digital world of marketing, most of the fat must already be gone, because the industry is cutting into the muscle.
My heart goes out to everyone at these two organizations who is out of a job. They say it’s not personal, it’s just business, but having personally been on both sides of the axe. It’s a lot more personal if you’re the one without a job. Good luck to everyone and let’s hope for the change sooner rather than later.
