The news: Publicis Groupe is going through a wave of layoffs related to return-to-office compliance, per Ad Age. Approximately 150 employees who didn’t comply with RTO policies were laid off last week, the company said.
This week, an additional 200 may be let go—though Publicis hasn’t said if the latest round of layoffs is also RTO-related.
A major issue: Return to office is top of mind across industries this year as the US moves further away from pandemic-era lockdowns that sparked the rise of remote work. Ad agencies likely embrace these policies due to the nature of their work, which benefits from creative and close collaboration and client interaction.