WPP Unveils Major Restructure with £500 Million Cost-Cutting Plan and Job Losses
WPP, the global advertising and communications powerhouse, has announced a sweeping strategic plan aimed at achieving £500 million in annual cost savings by 2028. This ambitious overhaul involves significant job losses and a fundamental restructuring of the company's operations to streamline what CEO Cindy Rose describes as "excessive organisational complexity."
Profits Plunge and Strategic Response
The announcement comes on the heels of WPP's disclosure that its profits plummeted by more than 70% last year. In 2025, the company posted an operating profit of £382 million, a sharp 71% decline from the previous year. Underlying revenues also fell by 5.4% year-on-year, with an even steeper drop in the UK market, attributed to client departures and budget reductions.
Chief executive Cindy Rose, who joined WPP last year from Microsoft UK, acknowledged the company's recent "underperformance" but expressed optimism about its potential. "While disappointing, I see huge potential as these issues are all within our power to fix and we're already making great progress," she stated.
Restructure Details and Job Impact
The restructure will transform WPP from a holding company overseeing numerous operating divisions into a single, integrated entity. The business will be reorganised into four core units: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production, and WPP Enterprise Solutions. These divisions will span four global regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific.
All four units will be integrated through WPP Open, the company's artificial intelligence-driven marketing platform. This move is expected to result in job losses, with WPP targeting duplicated positions and simplifying its corporate structure. The company has not specified which roles will be affected or the exact number of positions at risk.
This follows earlier workforce reductions; WPP disclosed last July that it had cut approximately 4,000 jobs since the beginning of the year, primarily within its WPP Media division, through redundancies and natural staff attrition to manage expenses amid challenging market conditions.
Cost Savings and Future Outlook
WPP is targeting annual cost savings of £500 million by 2028 as part of this multi-year strategic plan. The company, which has its head office on London's South Bank and a campus in Manchester, aims to position itself as a leader in the AI era.
Rose highlighted her vision for the company: "My first six months as CEO have only reinforced my conviction that WPP is an extraordinary company. As our clients navigate uncertainty, AI disruption and macro-volatility, we're looking ahead with a clear and focused mission: to be the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands in the era of AI."
Under her leadership, WPP has secured new client agreements, including deals with the UK Government, Pizza Hut, Major League Soccer, Reckitt, and Jaguar Land Rover for global assignments. The restructure is seen as a critical step to address underlying issues and drive future growth in a rapidly evolving industry.
